Poké Wars: The Nonsense
by Cornova
Summary: In Kalos there exists a natural wonder unlike anything in the world, known by natives as the Reflection Cave. Legend speaks of the thousands of mirror-like crystals all across the cave's interior, how each reflection shows a world that could have been, that they are windows to a different reality. Yet, legend never speaks of what happens if crystal shards crack, fall, and overlap.
1. Ranger Danger

**ADR: 0003**

 **March 31**

* * *

"Almost there, I'm almost there" Seymour told himself again and again, chanting it like a prayer. He was so close to his goal and after years of planning he had finally found a way to make it back to earth. It had cost him a substantial amount to get the coordinates to his system from Grymwar, a galactic networks of information brokers. That, and years of seemingly innocent and scholarly questions to the clefairy about their ships had helped him learn how to pilot some of their models.

Finding a ship that could make the trip and could be manned by a one person and with his limited biology had been difficult, but months of patience and searching finally paid off. The idea of smuggling himself aboard a ship passing through his system had occurred to him until he'd learned that entering his system was apparently illegal. Apparently there had been a strictly enforced law put in place decades ago making systems with less advanced races, anyone who hadn't developed interplanetary space travel yet, forbidden territory.

When he asked what had prompted such a law, the clefairy told him that it had gone into effect after the events of what could technically be called a galactic civil war. Not to say that no one ever ventured into those prohibited quadrants, they just never do so by legal means. Besides the clefairy, those who did were rarely friendly, and that alone had been enough to dissuade him from going that route.

Those who were caught by the galactic council could plea to have the severity of their punishment mitigated, the extent was dependent on how little influence their presence had affected the technological and cultural advancement of the creatures of the affected system. Because of this, his existence and the hundreds of other humans that had been smuggled off his planet had to be kept quiet. In the years he spent among the Lunites, the galactic name for the clefairy, he learned that the galactic community didn't have the highest opinion of his apparent saviors.

Much like his home world, the Lunites' home planet, Qintaro, had become too dangerous to live on, so they fled to the neighboring moons. Another race had psychically predicted that this would happen and warned them years in advance, allowing them the time they need to settle on their moons. Their technology was advanced enough to let them comfortably on the satellites which were large enough to sustain and maintain the entire population. Over time certain groups of Clefairy began worshiping the celestial bodies they now called home.

Not everyone shared the view but they allowed the groups to exist as they saw little harm in this new faith. All of that changed when a Cognate moon harvesting station was blown up and its workers were murdered, their bodies displayed to the public as examples of what happened to those who desecrated the holy lands of their faith.

In order to save some face, the Lunite government started cracking down on the moon worshipers in their communities, even going as far as to adopt and refer to those of that faith as Luna-tics.

Not everyone of the faith was so extreme, but anyone who practiced it became a target. One of the less extreme sects decided to leave and practice their religion in peace and what better place than one of the few remaining quadrants of the galaxy where no one was allowed to venture. That had been decades ago, enough time for the anger towards the Luna-tics to come down to a simmer. Time had allowed for the distinction to be made between the extremists and peaceful worshippers, but the actions of the extremist group still echoed to this day.

When the clefairy he'd traveled with went to their moons their government was not pleased, but they weren't so heartless as to have Seymour and his race back. The government empathized with the humanity's plight, so similar to their own, but there were some conditions if they were to stay. Not all the humans were going to be kept on their moons, maintaining their growing population was becoming difficult enough without adding another several hundred humans.

Placing them on Qintaro was out of the question, so deals were brokered with other races that were on good terms with the Lunites to house and hide some of the humans they had brought with them. If the galactic council ever found out, the hope was that the damage would be spread evenly among the other races as opposed to it being completely focused on the clefairy.

As grateful as Seymour was to the Clefairy for trying to save his race from destruction, the moment he heard from the Grymwar agent that his planet and his race was still alive he knew he had to make his way back.

Not that they didn't try to make him feel comfortable and at home. Despite being hidden from the rest of the world, the Lunites did their best to make sure he was fed, rested, and entertained. They even tried to set him up with another human female, not so subtly hinting at how his race would eventually need to be restarted in the future.

Their efforts, however well intentioned, were in vain as his time as a mountain hermit had done little for his social skills. Unlike some of his fellow survivors, he preferred to spend his time spending time with the Lunites, asking them about their government and culture. Within the first few months, he and a few other humans began to actually understand the clefairy without the need of a translator or an electronic tablet, though their writing was another matter entirely.

As a result, while inputting the coordinates to his planet's system he may have missed or added an unnecessary character into the system. This resulted in him being thrown several thousand kilometers away from his desired destination. Making another jump to close the distance was pointless and he risked zipping through earth's atmosphere and into an explosive landing that would end his trip permanently.

Years of talking with the mechanics also told him that he needed to let the drives cool and that the thrusters would allow him to make the rest of the way. He had waited for several years, he could wait another few hours. There really wasn't any rush as no one knew he was making his way towards his home, and if they ever found out, by the time they did he'd already be on terra firma and it'd be too late. His timing had been perfect, having warped past the galactic border security just as they were switching patrols.

His only real concern was that he had enough fuel to make the last of the trip, although he had already prepared a few contingencies in the event that he might be stranded.

Seymour spent the next few hours humming to himself, thinking about all the things he might do when he was back on earth. Part of him hoped that the issues he had left Earth with had been resolved while he'd been gone. Things had looked grim in his departure but some part of him knew that humanity would pull through and be on top of things once more.

The clefairy had done their best to shield from the happenings of the galactic community. Things were happening across the cosmos, big things that could tip the balance of power for a multitude of races. It had happened ever since the event that everyone in space was calling the Limit Break. The first days weren't so bad, with a lot of the damage being mitigated because many psychic types had foreseen the event happening and prepared beforehand.

In fact, most of the galactic council was comprised mainly of psychic types, much to the chagrin of the other advanced races, like the clefairy, who didn't carry any strong psychic genes and as a result didn't have as much sway in council meetings.

Yet, as hard as clefairy tried to keep in him the dark, word of galactic events still reached his ears and once he started talking to one of the ghosts of Grymwar, the missing pieces to his theory fell into place. With every race getting a sudden boost to their powers, everyone was keeping an eye on everyone else to see who would make the first move. Most races had unique planetary defense methods capable of wiping out entire battalions should an outside force try and invade.

The wild card was the formidable Xochiltan Empire who had conquered an entire quadrant of the galaxy. With forces numbering in septillions they were composed of bug type pokémon whose union and conquest was founded on the belief that they first race in existence to be created by their creator deity, and as such they held the right to rule over all other races that came after them. What they lacked in powers compared to other psychics they made up for in

The last few decades had been quiet, which unnerved most of the other races as no one knew what went on within their borders.

Theories as to why they had gone quiet ranged from the possibility that they were reinforcing the stability of all the systems they had conquered to the potential infighting from inability to maintain such a large force. No one, not even Grymwar agents had any definite answers to support those claims. Now with everyone getting a boost, everyone kept one eye on their neighbors and the other on the empire.

A holoscreen suddenly materialized before Seymour's eyes, showing him the time remaining before he reached the planet's atmosphere.

"Sally, can you bring up the planet on the screen," he commanded the ship's onboard computer, watching the electroglass reconfigure to his wishes. Earth's image appeared, revealing the moon and the planet he had left behind in perfect clarity, or at least it did until the tears in his eyes made the world around him start to shimmer. He wiped his tears on his sleeve, noting the brown strip of cloth wrapped around his bicep. It was all that remained of the lab coat he had when he lived among the clefairy in the mountains.

"I'm almost there guys, and I think I have something better than a postcard," Seymour chuckled until a warning screen eclipsed his view of the earth.

"Oh shit," Seymour whispered, watching the interior lights flash red and drown the silence in the warning klaxon. A green serpentine figure swam across a mass of clouds, cruising through the mesosphere along with the earth's rotation.

Seymour's hands ghosted over the control panel as he scanned the button for something that could save him.

"Sal, please tell me this ship has a cloaking device?" he pleaded as the green figure stopped moving and turned to face them.

"This vessel was not outfitted with a cloaking device," the onboard computer chimed back, sounding blissfully unaware of their situation.

"Well let's hope that he can't see us from this dis-"

"Incoming energy signature," warned him, "Evasive maneuvers advised."

Seymour practically threw himself onto the controls. Had he hesitated for another second he would've been caught in the column of black and purple energy that tore through space.

"Shields holding at seventy percent," Sal's tone was dark, making Seymour briefly wonder if she was actually concerned about their situation or programmed to sound worried when she gave those percentages.

" _That blast didn't even fully connect with the ship! It hardly grazed it_!"

"Hostile is now approaching the vessel. Will arrive in 2 hours if we remain stationary."

"Sal, can we outrun whatever is attacking us? Simres." He tacked on at the end, essentially asking for a simple response.

"Not with this vessel's own propulsion," she promptly replied, reconfiguring the electroglass to show phantom scenarios of his ship trying to outmaneuver the creature known as Rayquaza. None of the scenarios ended with him surviving.

"Wait, not with our…what if we use the moon for a gravity assist? If he'd heading towards us we can let him tail us at a certain distance and then slingshot around the moon. Could we make it to earth then?"

Sal was silent for a few uncomfortable seconds before responding.

"Success of tactic not impossible. Would have limited time to hide from hostile once we've passed the stratosphere. Hiding in the seas may make it difficult to be tracked."

"Make it so. I'm giving you command of the ship while I get suited up. Continue making evasive maneuvers but make sure we stay on course and don't lose any speed. Use the remaining fuel if you have to. Let's make our way back to the moon but throw that thing a few warning shots so he knows we're still interested. If he doesn't chase us this won't work. Let me know when we reach the moon."

"Acknowledged," was all Sal said before Seymour made his way to the end of the circular room and keyed the lift to descend to the second level of the ship. While the ship's hull hadn't been breached, it didn't hurt to prepare for the worst.

Seymour stood before the environment suit the Clefairy had fashioned for him on his birthday. While they had never intended for him to go into space, the suit itself had all the components that their suits had to let them safely enter the vacuum. Suiting up was the easy part, the hard part was the waiting.

In an attempt to kill time Seymour descended to the lower levels of the ship to make sure everything was still intact. The second floor was his personal cabin where his personal effects were kept, the floor below that was the engine room, and just below that was storage. The ship was spherical with a metal ring around the middle, much like the cartoony image of a UFO that Seymour often drew when he was a child. It was small, but efficient. Everything that was there needed to be there, much like how they tried to run their countries.

Seymour thought back to the digital magazine the clefairy had uploaded onto his electronic tablet. He'd shown such an interest in their vessels and spent so much time asking questions about the other types ships from other races they decided to give him something to hopefully sate his curiosity, along with an app that gave him the species equivalent on his planet.

With every swipe of the screen he turned the page and was given an interactive three dimensional hologram of the ship with its stats floating beside it. With so much information to take in it took Seymour several weeks to make sense of it all but the wonders of space travel were rekindled in his heart.

Beheeyem ships were disk shaped whereas Malamar ships had crystalline structure. Reuniclus made trips along the cosmos in ships that were essentially a giant single-celled organisms. Deoxys and Metagross could move through space without the use of ships and instead linked up to boost their speed. Alakazam ships were inspired by their psychic mediums while the ships that the Delphox and Ninetails used looked very much akin to spherical paper lanterns. And that was just to name a few.

Most of the ship designs wouldn't normally be conducive to traveling through the air and into space, but being a psychic type with the ability to ignore gravity had its advantages.

"We are approaching the planet's moon" Sal's disembodied voice spoke through the walls and made him jump.

"Thank you, Sal. I'll be up there in a minute," Seymour replied, making his way to the lift. It had been a long time since Seymour saw his moon and compared to the moons the clefairy lived on it wasn't that spectacular.

"But it's my moon and my planet," Seymour mumbled under his breath just as he entered the control room of the ship. The sterile lunar plains dominated most of the screen, the sight of it threatening to take Seymour's breath away.

"Sal, is the pokémon still in pursuit?"

"Rayquaza has been closing the distance ever since we started advancing towards the moon. Our records of Rayquaza's abilities may be obsolete as he's moving faster than our records ever indicated."

"Maybe his limit got broken too" Seymour mused, cradling his chin in his hand before looking up again. "Has he fired any other energy attacks?"

"Negative. I believe that the initial strike he fired at us was to gauge our ability to dodge his attacks. Repeated strikes of that manner would deplete from his energy reserves which he is using to chase us. Our records indicate that Rayquaza designates anything within the moon's orbit of earth his territory and may cease his pursuit once we leave."

"Looks like he's gonna be disappointed today."

"Seymour, once we reach the planet and if we survive this encounter…how will you be disposing of this vessel and its equipment?"

"Dispose?"

"The Galactic Evolutionary Preservation Act clearly states that advanced alien technology is not to come into contact with lesser advanced races so that their technological advancement is not influenced by outside forces. If you do not intend to comply I am required to initiate this vessel's self-destruct sequence or allow Rayquaza to eliminate any trace of our existence."

Seymour's face discovered shades of white his body had never known.

"You didn't bring this up when we snuck past security."

"There are parts of my programing set to activate the deeper I enter into a less advanced quadrant of space. All ship AI are created with this in place ever since the Denilzon Accord. Now that we are so close to the planet I am forced to obey these aspects of my programming."

"I'll make sure no one finds you or anything on this ship," Seymour offered back weakly.

"I'm required to ask you how," all the warmth her voice once held was now gone.

"Y-you mentioned the sea. Couldn't you just head to the bottom of the ocean with your autopilot?"

"Method ineffective. High probability of still being discovered and impacting your species and their technological advancement."

"H-how about a volcano? You could fly into the lava and be melted down. No trace there."

"This method is satisfactory. I will continue to…"

"Sal…what's wrong?"

"Energy spike detected. Rayquaza has disappeared from my sensors," Sal explained, bringing up a view from the rear of their ship with nothing but the image of earth and empty space behind them.

"What do you mean disappeared? Did he stop chasing us?"

"Rescanni-I have located Ray-brace for impa-."

Before Seymour could even inquire further he felt the entirety of the ship lurch to the side, the floor beneath his feet falling away as he lifted into the air and flew across the room. His suit was able to take the brunt of the damage, but slamming into the wall sent the air from his lungs. Warning lights flashed and bathed the room in crimson, windows materialized onto the cracking electroglass with lists of damages throughout the ship, cascading endlessly over one another until it all eventually blinked out to reveal the cold and unforgiving black of space.

Seymour felt and watched the gravity generator fail as loose fragments of his ship lifted into the air in a maelstrom of metallic chaos. The only light now came through the inactive electroglass, darkness eclipsed briefly by the pale surface of his planet's moon. Every revolution brought the gray lunar plains closer, fragments and shards of the ship battering his body all the while but the suit held.

Seymour screamed, the noise filling his helmet and nowhere else as the room once the air vented out through the damaged holes. His mind was like the room he was in, chaotic and incoherent, shards of fear and despair relentlessly bombarding him. While the debris never actually breeched the suit, it still forcefully shunted and shifted his body with every blow.

Part of Seymour wondered how long this would go on and wanted it all to be over, but the other part knew what it all being over would mean. He didn't have to wait long before his ship crashed into the moon and the pandemonium stilled and his vision was replaced with darkness.

Seymour awoke a minute later as his suit desperately tried to keep him alive and active, injecting a cocktail of steroids and stimulants into his bloodstream. Hundreds of tiny airbags that lined the interior of his suit deflated, allowing him to regain some of his mobility. Filters and pumps within his suit immediately went to work on replenishing the remaining air in his suit. The Kantonian scientist's heart was moving a hundred miles a minute as he looked about the wreckage of his ship. Seymour scrambled across the room, wanting to be nowhere near the ship should Rayquaza decide to finish of the fallen vessel.

Small plumes of lunar soil floated off the ground as Seymour tumbled out of the wreckage. Seymour stared up and felt his blood freeze at the sight of the serpentine figure floating a few dozen meters away from the crash site. The clefairy's records on Rayquaza would have to be revised as creature he now witnessed seemed drastically different from what was on file.

Glowing bronze chains flowed from the ends of what seemed to be emerald horns that framed his brow and jaw. His once yellow eyes were replaced with burning coals that swam in the black pools. Amber spheres jutted out of black scales from the sides of his body that now seemed longer and larger than before. Black lips parted to bare rows of golden teeth and while Seymour couldn't hear anything from the creature's mouth, he felt a wave of force shake his bones and send waves of lunar sand flying in every direction.

Seymour feared moving, feared breathing or making any noise within his suit regardless of the fact that he was now within the vacuum of space. All he could hope for was to be so insignificant that he would be spared out of pity. The only sound in the universe now was his heartbeat, thrumming against his chest at an impossible tempo as he strained to hold his breath.

Either some cosmic force had heard his frantic and silent prayers or Rayquaza himself decided he wasn't worth the effort because he swiftly turned and vanished from Seymour's sight, becoming a green pinprick in the distance. Seconds passed before Seymour felt as though every nerve in his body was unraveling and coming undone. Earth's first space traveler released a desperate gasp for air and frantically gulped down air almost faster than his suit could recycle it.

Seymour dropped to the ground, fear and exhilaration being experienced in equal parts. His body shook uncontrollably from the aftereffects of the adrenaline, even after he threw up in his own helmet. Luckily, his suit was advanced enough to eliminate the vomit just as fast as he could produce it. Seymour wasn't sure how long he lied there, but lifted off the ground as soon as his heart rate returned to normal.

Just one look was enough to let Seymour know that there was no way he would ever get his ship off the moon. His gaze drifted back to the earth, the very place he'd been trying to get to for three years. So here he was, so close to his goal and yet so far, at least relatively speaking.

"Is this my punishment? Was this why I was spared?" he sobbed within his helmet and fell to his knees. Tears floated aimlessly within his spacesuit as his hand reached out for the earth, almost as if he could grab it and pull it closer. He leaned forward, stretching out in a hopeless attempt to bridge the distance until he lost his balance and fell forward.

Tiny clouds of lunar soil rose from his landing. His arm was still outstretched, fingers straining to advance even just another millimeter closer to his home. When his arm could stretch no more it simply hung there for a few seconds before dropping to the ground. Seymour's fingers dragged through the sand, curling into a fist in a vain attempt to crush the remnants into a finer powder.

"There's gotta be something I can use on the ship to make it the rest of the way" Seymour growled, slamming his fist into the dirt and pushing himself off the ground and onto his feet. Moving in a weaker gravity on the moon would've been something the younger Seymour would have reveled in, but the older and more seasoned scientist new better than to waste time. His suit would allow him to survive for some time without air, he would eventually need to resupply.

Seymour ducked and crawled through the wreckage until he was back on the command deck. He poured over the command console which was surprisingly still intact and was grateful that the backup generators were still intact.

"S-seYmuor?" the disjointed voice spoke into his suit's radio.

"Oh thank god. Yes Sal, it's me."

"What are-are-are-you doing?" she asked as he made his way to the lift at the back of the room.

"I'm going into storage to see if there's something I can use to make it the rest of the way to earth, or at least keep me alive long enough to make the trip there," Seymour explained, trying to pry open the doors to the lift. He'd managed to find some purchase and was already shifting them back enough to squeeze through before they slammed close.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Seymour," Sal's voice now taking on a cold and emotionless tone.

"Sal, open these doors right now!" Seymour yelled.

"I cannot. You intend to bring advanced equipment onto a lesser advanced planet. This vessel is no longer capable of flight and will have to be eliminated. You may remove your helmet at this time or keep it on and remain inside while I overload the reactor. If you do not wish to be within the vessel when it explodes I will withhold the countdown until you are atop it so that the explosion can propel you away from the planet, that way the chances of your body being located by your race will have decreased significantly."

"Sal, I am not killing myself. I am going to my planet. Do not self destruct. Just let me get some of the equipment out of storage and once I'm on earth I promise you I will make sure no one gets their hands on this technology."

"You cannot assure me the validity of these claims. My methods ensure that the GEP Act is followed. Overloading the reactor will ensure that the remains of this vessel will be vaporized. The crater this explosion will leave may blend in with the other craters on this moon. Before I start the countdown, would you like to rate your experience."

"IT FUCKING SUCKED!" Seymour screamed.

"Thank you for your time and I hope your death is quick and painless. Please do not take this personally, I am only upholding galatci law. Beginning countdown at 10...9...8..."

"Son of a bitch," Seymour growled through gritted teeth and dove for the opening where he initally entered. He'd managed to make it a few meters away before he felt himself flatten against a wall of force. Adrenaline filled his veins while the landscape around him dissolved into a gray blur. Seymour viscously clawed at the ground but could find no purchase until his fingers struck something hard and instinctively curled around it.

Waves of force and lunar spray washed past him, making him feel like a flag in a sand storm. The dust eventually settled as the force of the blast waned back into stillness. Seymour let himself float down onto the hard surface he had grabbed onto. Curiosity temporarily overwhelmed the inevitable despair at his situation.

The longer Seymour looked at it the more and more he rejected the answer he came up with and yet he couldn't deny that he was staring at a manhole cover. Seymour's fingers felt down the edge and found that they continued deeper into the moon. The once level surface was now slanted, with the edge that he had held on for dear life edging out of the pipe it sealed.

"What is this doing here? Where does it go? Who put this here?" Seymour thought to himself as he grabbed the lifted edge and began to pull. Never once did he question why it was sealed, or whether removing the cap could have a negative conquest. Without too much effort Seymour was eventually able to lift the manhole cover, figuering that the explosion had loosened it enough before.

The moment the slightest breach in the seal had been made a black torrent of pressurized miasma spewed forth from the pipe. Seymour backed away just in time to dodge the manhole burst from the pipe atop a geyser of oily darkness. At first the scientist thought that he had somehow found oil on the moon until a figure began to form within the black fountain. Dark wings sprouted from rushing column as red eyes shone past its murky depths. The inky liquid swirled in on itself, crystalizing into the recognizable features of a creature.

"AFTER TEN THOUSAND CHAPTERS I'M FREE, IT'S TIME TO CONQUER EARTH!" Shadow Ho-oh crowed.

Meanwhile, on earth.

"Alakalossal, Ho-oh has escaped. Recruit a team of teenagers with attitude," Uxie commanded, receiving only a nod from the giant alakazam before five figures materialized into the room.

"Welcome humans. I am Uxie, creater of all intellect in existance. The planet is under attack and I have brought all here to save it." the sprite began to explain. Five pairs of unintested eyes blinked back at him.

"You've been chosen to form an elite team to battle Ho-oh. Each of you will be given access to powers drawn fro-"

Paul scoffed and rolled his eyes, scanning the entirety of the room.

"So where's the exit?"

"E-excuse me?" Alakalassol sputtered.

"The exit. I'm leaving. This sounds retarded and I have better things to do with my time. So where is it?"

"I-oh-you the nerve of...master Uxie?" the giant alakazam relented and turned to his master with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Down hall on left." Uxie replied without hesitation. "Do the rest of you wish to leave as well?"

Dawson traded glances with Hiiro, Cygnus, and Zahrah the gardevoir who all quietly nodded back at him and followed Paul. Uxie waited for them to quietly file out before turning to his assistant.

"Alakalossal, find another batch of teenagers...with a bit less attitude.

* * *

Over the years that I've been writing this series I've always wanted to do something special for April first but the day always passes me by. The times that I've even realized it's on its way I find myself with nothing to show for it because I've realized it too late. This was just a fun way for me to blow off steam and have fun since writing Poke Wars can take me to some dark places as I'm sure you readers and most of the other Poke Wars writers can agree. I will be updating this story probably once a year, but other Poke Wars writers will be free to update this anywhere between that time. The first half of this chapter is actually something that I've been working on the side ever since I made mention of space near the end of the Incipience. It will be a long time before I ever touch what I'm calling Cosmic Poke Wars but I hope you like what I've got so far. As for the ending portion, I hope it made you laugh or at least smile. I've always loved those joke stories that get you right at the end.


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter comes from my incredible Beta, Zarrelion who was gracious enough to contribute.**

* * *

August 17.

The day that all Humans have etched into their collective consciousness. It was a day of pure terror and destruction that belied its innocuous name: the Undampening.

That was day that the Rainbow Guardian, Ho-Oh turned his back on Humanity and declared war on them. It was a grudge that had festered for 758 years.

That day started off with explosions, fires and deaths as the pokémon struggled to contain their now lethal power. But things quickly got worse as wild pokémon — once annoying at most — now turned their attention to Humans.

The savagery of the attack quickly caught the Humans off-guard. People died by the millions; cities were reduced to ruins as hostile pokémon laid waste to every Human structure they saw. But it was not the end, Lugia and a group of Legendaries have sided with the Humans to stop Ho-Oh's hateful crusade.

At first, they held their ground, managing to contain Ho-Oh's groups to Kanto. Daily raids by pokémon trainers and allied wild pokémon had managed to nibble away at his forces and infrastructure.

And then, Ho-Oh made a pact with Uxie. Soon, the tenuous foothold the Legendary-Humanity Coalition had in Kanto collapsed. The army of cloned pokémon and brainwashed Humans quickly swallowed New Bark Town. In mere weeks, Johto had fallen.

Sinnoh was next. Not even the total destruction of Sunyshore City by overloading the Sunyshore Tower was able to stave off Ho-Oh's relentless march.

And now, with the last remnants of Humanity and the few remaining Legendaries holed up in Evergrande City's Hall of Fame, Ho-Oh's victory was at hand.

The Pokémon Master looked in the mirror. His face was haggard and caked with sweat and dirt. About the only thing that still marked him as a Pokémon Master was the Pokémon League hat he wore. Despite it being crusted over with dirt, the iconic red and white cap still carried an air of defiance. He held a poké ball in his hand. Flanking him was Lugia, Cynthia, Steven, Alder, Latias, Mesprit and the champions of the other leagues along with the remaining Legendaries.

The door shuddered before a wave of psychic force reduced the reinforced door to a pile of splinters. Striding in through the wreckage was Ho-Oh. Despite the palpable aura of fear that radiated through the room, everyone couldn't help but notice how regal Ho-Oh appeared. Not a single shimmering feather was out of place. The expression on his face was practically beatific as he looked down at the group.

"So this is the group that dared to defy me." He looked at Lugia and the gathered Legendaries. "A pity that you couldn't see the light and understand that I was making a utopia where all pokémon could live free. Free from the accursed influence of Humanity."

Mesprit looked at Ho-Oh. "Ho-Oh, how could you do this? Humans have revered you as the 'Rainbow Guardian' for centuries! Why…why would do such a cruel thing!?" The sprite quivered for a moment before muffled sobs could be heard.

Ho-Oh chuckled. "If they had not started enslaving pokémon, I wouldn't have had to take such a drastic course of action. I regret the loss of life, but sometimes peace has its price."

Lugia glared at Ho-Oh. The sheer emptiness of his words felt more like a mockery than a true apology. "Peace!?" he spat. "You dare speak of peace when you've slaughtered _billions_ , enslaved whole cities and condemned an entire species to damnation for the acts of a few!?"

The Pokémon Master strode forward with his poké ball in hand. "Enough! I challenge you for the fate of Humanity!"

The gathered Legendaries and champions gasped at the man's bold — if suicidal, action. They expected a river of shimmering pink-fire to reduce him to wisps of vapor. To their surprise, Ho-Oh stood still and clicked his beak together in what could be described as a smirk.

The Rainbow Guardian chuckled. "I could use some amusement…Very well. I accept!"

The Pokémon Master turned his cap backward. All the champions gasped; they had seen that action when they battled him seeming eternities ago. It was a sign that the impending battle was one for the ages.

Uxie turned the ruined hall of fame into an _ad hoc_ arena. He floated to the side of the arena and spoke in a cruel parody of an official league referee.

"This gym battle is between Champion Ho-Oh and Challenger Asswipe for the fate of Humanity. All contestants will use six pokémon and only the challenger will be allowed to make substitutions. Beee…ggggggggn—gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn –gn"

 **PING!**

 _Attention!_ _has_ _performed_ _an illegal operation and will be shut down. Quit all programs and restart your computer. If the problem persists, contact the program vendor._

 _To send an error report, please click_

* * *

Altomare_Sweetie: Are you fucking kidding me!?

 _Altomare_Sweetie_ added _Allbrainz_ , _RainbowPrince, Beast_Of_The_Sea, GarchompLuvr, ChosenOne_

GarchompLuvr: We won! In your face!

Allbrainz: Incorrect. Failure of program does not constitute win.

Beast_Of_The Sea: He's right, you know.

RainbowPrince: Arceus-damnit, Uxie! Whose side are you on!?

Allbrainz: On no one's side. Just stating facts.

RainbowPrince: Seriously though, the graphics are amazing! I mean, the settings are practically photorealistic and the portrait of me…fabulous!

Allbrainz: Aside. Player of Human Leader showed considerable immaturity. Refrain from said shenanigans in next game.

Altomare_Sweetie: That means _you_ Cynthia! For fuck's sake! _Grow up!_

GarchompLuvr: Can't any of you take a joke?

Chosen_One: This match was pathetically easy. I mean, within the first _hour_ we were able to take Johto!

GarchompLuvr: I'm not sure where I went wrong!

Altomare_Sweetie: What went wrong is that you suck!

Beast_Of_The_Sea: Easy, Latias. Cynthia's new at this game. Though I have to admit, when you placed her in command of the pokémon trainer and allied pokémon units, she was able to pull off some astounding victories. But really, using only pokémon trainers and pokémon even after you start seeing cloned forces?

Allbrainz: Viable tactic in early game. Wasteful tactic in late-game.

Altomare_Sweetie: Uxie's right. As the game progress, you need to pour research into military units. Especially when the cloned forces and brainwashed troops start appearing.

RainbowPrince: And I had just finished the Arceus missile research too!

Chosen_One: And that's it was so easy to get Hoenn. No defenses except pokémon trainers.

Allbrainz: Poured all resources into research. Ill advised course of action. Suggest focusing on defense and units early on.

Altomare_Sweetie: So…same time, same day next week?

Allbrainz: Acceptable. Propose different teams. And choose different server. Too much lag. Increase chance of errors.

Beast_Of_The_Sea: Can't. Shamouti Island festival is next week.

RainbowPrince: How about Silver?"

Beast_Of_The_Sea: He's a bit too young for this game.

Chosen_One: …

GarchompLuvr: …

Altomare_Sweetie: I'll see if Brock or Banette wants to play.

Allbrainz: Subtract voice chat if Brock or Banette are added to equation.

RainbowPrince: No Banette! Last time I played with him, he was constantly calling me a "cocksmoker" and telling me to suck his dick.

GarchompLuvr: And no Brock! He's always asking to see pictures of my tits.

Chosen_One: Why would anyone want to see those? And what's a "cocksmoker"?

Altomare_Sweetie: …

RainbowPrince: …

Beast_Of_The_Sea: …

GarchompLuvr: …

Allbrainz: Change of subject. Determine time of rematch?

Beast_Of_The_Sea: I'll be out next week.

RainbowPrince: Cool. I'll see if Suicune, Entei or Raikou want to play. Anyways I'm out.

 _RainbowPrince_ left

 _Allbrainz_ left

 _Altomare_Sweetie_ left

 _Beast_Of_The_Sea_ left

 _GarchompLuvr_ left

 _Chosen_One_ left

 _Dark_Sun_ has entered chat

 _Black_Yin:_ All right! Let's get this match going! Hey, where is everyone? Aw shit! Don't tell me I'm too late! Damn me, being in Unova…

 _Black_Yin_ left

 **Author's notes:**

I re-imagined _Poké Wars_ as something of a _Command and Conquer_ styleRTS with some RPG elements (the pokémon battles).

It should be pretty obvious who's who in the chat.


	3. Spirited Away

"Oi, why are we here?"

"Nope. Not falling for it. You're not gonna get me this time."

"Okay, fine. But seriously. Why are we in the middle of the woods with Harley and his friends nowhere in sight?"

"Now that you mention it…" Cacturne spun slowly in place, seeing nothing but miles of forest that flanked the dirt road before them. "I…don't know."

"It's probably the universe again," the Banette sighed.

"What does that _even_ mean?!"

"Basically, we're being thrown into a scenario for the universe's personal enjoyment."

"That doesn't…how do you…what about Harley and the others?" Cacturne began to sputter, holding onto his head before it exploded.

"I'm sure once this is all over we'll get sent back and we won't even remember this ever happened."

The scarecrow cactus could only stare at the haunted toy, unaccustomed to hearing him be the voice of reason.

"Or maybe I've finally gone crazy" a mixture of mania and depression creeped into Cacturne's voice.

"What makes you say that?"

"Some part of me can't help but feel like you're making sense."

"You're not crazy…at least not yet. But don't you worry, I'll let you know if I've finally made you snap."

"Bane, over there," Cacturne aimed his arm down the road to a hulking figure heading towards them.

Banette swung his arm onto his brow to block the sunlight, squinting into the distance.

"Think it's an enemy?" Cacturne asked, the stub of his arm was suddenly adorned with dozens a green spines.

"Hardly," the marionette mumbled, "and put those things away."

Within a few seconds the figure's features became more distinguished to reveal a Nidoqueen with a small child on her back. They approached to a certain distance before she stopped and stared at them warily.

Banette gave his idea of a friendly smile, which was also coincidentally his creepy sadistic smile, and waved, to which the girl atop the nidoqueen ducked out of view. Noting that, Cacturne smacked Banette upside the head and sent him into the ground.

"You wouldn't happen to know where you are? We're kind of lost" Cacturne quickly added, doing his best to not sound menacing.

The Nidoqueen regarded him for a few seconds before letting her shoulders slump as she sighed, looking up again with a weak smile.

"I was actually hoping the two of you would know where we might be. One minute we're in the middle of the wastes, the next we're on this road surrounded by trees."

"Trees Nida!" the little girl squeed.

"Where were you heading?" Cacturne asked, watching the little girl peek out from the sides.

"Anywhere with humans. This girl is the…" the Nidoqueen paused for a moment, forming her next words carefully. "She's the daughter of my late trainer."

"If she's late then why don't you ask her to come earl-!" an emerald spike flew through Banette's forehead before he could finish the statement. The ghost was quiet for a moment, still processing what had happened to him.

"You shot me!"

"It went right through you," Cacturne pointed out.

"Yeah, but you shot at my brain!"

"Whether or not you have a brain is up for debate. Besides, you shouldn't have felt it, it wouldn't hurt you."

"It hurt my feelings," Banette's eyes began to shimmer as his voice took on a more tremulous tone. They looked into each other's eyes for a brief moment before Cacturne smacked him into the ground without warning. Giggles from the girl atop the nidoqueen filled the air and evoked a small smile from the cactus man.

"I'm sorry you two had to see him."

"It's alright, I've actually had my own experiences with some of their kind,"

"Needy! You wouldn't be talking about little old me, now would ya? Not your adorable guide?"

Cacturne couldn't but feel on edge when the voice that spoke came out of thin air. Materializing into view beside the nidoqueen was a misdreavus, sporting a mischievous grin that Cacturne couldn't help but feel was already too familiar.

"Where are my manners," the nidoqueen deadpanned, "My name is Nida, the girl's name is Maya, and this is our guide, Dree." The ghost grumbled something about being introduced last.

"My name is Cacturne and this is my teammate, Banette," Cacturne motioned with his arm to find the space beside him was already empty.

"But you my dear may call me Bane, or Baney, whichever one you like really," the haunted toy's voice had adopted a low and dulcet tone as he bowed before the misdreavus. The screech pokémon cocked an eyebrow at him until he abruptly reared his head back and screamed in her face, his eyes eclipsed by blue flames. The spontaneity of it startled everyone, Cacturne couldn't help but notice how quickly Nida adopted a defensive stance.

Dree's stones glowed softly as they absorbed the fear that filled the air around them, her startled expression quickly morphing into satisfaction.

"Well you certainly know how to make a first impression," Dree purred. Banette forced the flames around his eyes to dissipate and unveiled a smile that bordered on predatory.

"Sorry about my Will O Wisp. It has a mind of its own sometimes. It'll just activate whenever I look at someone-" Banette began to explain, taking the liberty caressing Dree's cheek before abruptly lifting it from her, now with the blue embers crowning each finger, "-incredibly hot."

Dree swallowed hard, Nida maintained her defensive stance and altered it slightly by lifting her arm to cover Maya's eyes and ears.

"My name's actually…aaaaaeeeeeeeoo," Dree whispered, Banette's eyes closed and shivered at the sound. Nida wasn't sure if who they were seeing was even actually Dree anymore, having never seen her so subdued or timid."

"Fitting that such a lovely name should belong to an even lovelier lady."

Cacturne was going to have to redefine his views on Banette as newer and newer sides of him were cropping up every other day.

"I know we've just met and this is probably gonna sound really crazy-"

"I _am_ crazy" Banette assured her, evoking another giggle from her.

"But are you…busy right now?"

"Not at all," he replied casually.

"Umm, Bane…" Cacturne started until Banette thrust out his arm out at him, holding up a finger that he proceeded to wag back and forth.

"In fact, I was hoping if you'd give me a bit more of your time, so that I might treat you to something a little more satisfying that fast food."

"You really know how to show a girl a good time. Uh, Nida, just uh, maybe hang around his Bane's friend for a bit, I'm gonna be…out for a bit," Dree giggled and burst from the area with Banette following suit.

"What just happened?" Cacturne asked aloud, hoping the universe would make sense of what just happened.

"I'm…not entirely sure," Nida replied.

* * *

 **If you're unfamiliar with Dree, Nida, and Maya they're from another Poke Wars story, The Victory Road. It's definitely worth a read and I have special things planned for those characters in the future. It hasn't been updated for a while, but a few reviews thrown that story's way could change that if you're invested in the story.**


	4. The Only Winning Move

Colres' hand hovered over his knight piece, surveying the board for the best possible course of action. Dozens of moves and countermoves played themselves out in his mind, thinking three or even five moves ahead of himself and what he would do against his own plays would be necessary considering his opponent. Eventually he picked up his knight, tipping over a pawn which was immediately enveloped in a blue psychic glow.

It levitated off the board to the join the other pieces in a bowl that floated beside each player. Uxie nodded in appreciation of play, wasting no time in shifting his bishop to consume another one of Colres' forces.

"How is this even possible?" Anderson asked from the sidelines, struggling between his ever-present irritation at the world and confusion at the situation.

Neither player lifted their eyes from the board as if fearing the lapse in eye contact with the game would cost them.

"Pokemon are more intelligent than you would give them credit for. Their ability to play a mental game of this complexity would not be completely unheard of, especially for a pokémon of such mental capacity as Uxie."

"Flattery will not provide tactical advantage you seek. As to possible question, gained basic rules of chess from several humans that I extracted information from. Am however still learning. Next three games will ensure I never lose another."

"That's under the assumption that we make it to a tie-breaker," Colres chided playfully.

"That's not what I'm talking about! What is he doing here?! Why do I know him and yet also know that I haven't ever met him?" Anderson pointed a shaking finger at the sprite.

"This isn't canon," the sprite and scientist replied in unison with a tone that implied that the answer was the most obvious thing in the universe.

"Oh, so that just makes it okay?" the commander fumed.

"It would appear that wa- _oh you crafty little_ …" Colres exhaled as Uxie completed the white circle of go pieces around his queen.

"Why are you playing a board game with him?"

"Oh we've been doing this for years to help decide the fate of humanity," Colres stated offhandedly. "Last year we played risk," he added before picking up his checker piece and zigzagging it across the board, "King me."

Uxie wordlessly floated one of the fallen pieces from the bowl and mounted it on his.

"Why do you get to decide humanity's fate?!" Anderson's shoulders were shaking now, his face was now beginning to darken into more fatal shades of purple.

"Meh," Colres gave a sheepish shrug, watching Uxie psychically fiddle with his shogi piece from the corner of his eye.

Anderson began to visibly deflate and slumped into a chair that had been provided for him.

"Why am I here?" the soldier moaned miserably and sank deeper into the cushions.

"Not sure. Oh and Uxie, I believe the culprit is Colonel Mustard in the plane of eternal suffering…with the asteroid," Colres concluded.

"Would seem you are ahead by one point…for now," Uxie noted, laying the royal flush he psychically held onto the table while Colres threw down his own hand of five aces.

"I'm not even going to ask how the hell this game is played," Anderson groaned. "Oh goddesses, I'm actually starting to miss Cygnus."

Several minutes passed and the dark room became relatively quiet, save for the sinister chuckles both players seemed to trade back and forth and mutter, "Just as planned" over and over again.

"So when you finish this damned thing we can all go back to normal," the Unovan soldier inquired.

"That is a possibility that exists," Uxie replied diplomatically, psychically pulling out a block from the Jenga tower.

"My friend, I find your use of Stealth Rock in our friendly little game to be rather deplorable," the Unovan scientist grumbled as he held his 3DSXL, debating on who in his party to send out next.

"Legitimate strategy," Uxie countered, dropping the last red puck into the slot and effectively connecting four of his colors in a row.

I can't take this anymore" Anderson sighed and found some relief in that whatever evil force had brought him here, it had done him the courtesy of leaving him a method of sweet release.

If the sound of a gunshot and subsequent spray did anything to deter the players from continuing their game, they didn't show it. Instead they bickered of the whether or not items should be allowed and whether Final Destination was a fair stage.

* * *

 **Those of you unfamiliar with our soldier friend should check out The Divergence. It was Senriyu who gave me the idea of Colres and Uxie being friends. I honestly can't wait to actually have them meet up in the story. If you have time, send some love Senriyu's way.**


	5. Bread and Circus

**I've always thought it would be interesting if the roles were reversed. This next one comes to us from Janus366.**

* * *

The crowd of pokemon cheered with great excitement and expectation as they waited the start of the games on the massive coliseum. The stands where absolutely filled and packed with them due the promises of their Lord of fun, bloodshed and free food if they attended. Especially the latter, because free food and berries were always a good stimulus for any pokemon to go to see the games. Where this was just one of the many tactics Emperor Uxie used to keep his subjects both happy and content. All hail Emperor Uxie! Lord and sovereign of the mighty Pokemon Empire!

On the main stand, Emperor Uxie sit in all his glory on his throne. He was wearing a purple toga, an olive crown and was being dutifully served by his loyal Alakazam servants. One of them was fanning him with a long feathered fan. One on which their feathers looked suspiciously familiar...

After being informed, Emperor Uxie raised from his throne and finally proclaimed with a plain telepathic message to everyone present:

"Let the games begin."

The crowd cheered as one of the gates of the coliseum opened. After a brief moment, two human figures came out from it dressed with the garments of gladiators. Both were wearing mostly loincloths held by belts and sandals, but the older figure also had a shoulder and arm guard on his left arm. While the younger one had metal wrapping tied by thongs on his right arm, a greave on his left leg, wore a helmet which covered his head and also carried a large square shield with his left hand. The older gladiator was armed with a trident and a net, while the younger one carried a short sword.

"Where are we Sifu?" the young gladiator said to his master. "And why are we wearing and doing this? We should be travelling to LaRousse City with the others!"

"Don't worry Arthur" Batuo responded to reassure him. "The powers that be decided that today we are doing this. But after we finish our task, in no time we shall return to our proper time and place with no memory of this."

The two approached Uxie's stand and Batuo raised his trident.

"Hail, Emperor! Those who are about to die salute you!" Proclaimed.

Uxie just shrugged off the gesture.

"Just go and impress me..."

Then a second gate opened, and from it came out the three Legendary Beasts of Ho-Oh. Who different from their usual selves, were growling, roaring and snarling like actual beasts with no intelligence. Only hunger and violence seemed to cross their minds as the crowd exploded with excitement from the imminent fight.

The two gladiators faced their opponents.

"Arthur! Just remember your training and everything is going to be fine!" Said the old master.

"Right, Sifu! These savage beasts are no match for us!"

The two clapped their hands as they opened their chakras. With a shockwave emanating from their bodies, they were now covered in battle aura and ready for combat as they prepped their weapons.

"For Aura and the Guardian Monks! To battle!" proclaimed Batuo as the two charged the wild beasts.

Uxie just stood still on his throne as he quietly contemplated the carnage unfolding upon him.

" _Yes...yes. How fascinating...rather impressive for humans_."

Before rediscovering Aura Guardians, he had lost hope that humanity could impress him again. But after learning of what they were capable off, he then decided that maybe humanity could still prove to be interesting to keep around.

" _At least Ho-Oh's beasts are still useful for something.._." Uxie thought as he slightly observed the feathers of the fan above him. Feathers which had come from the tail of the previous Emperor before he had ousted him.

" _The games are just beginning..._ " He said to himself pleased as one of the Legendary Beasts cried in pain and the crowd roared more excited than ever.

The gate from which the beasts had come was now closed. But from behind it, one could see the red eyes glowing in the dark of dozens of hungry Swalots, including one of giant proportions.

" _And I can't wait for the final event..._ "

Behind the gate, the loud distinctive roar of a certain emerald dragon could be heard.


	6. Back to the Drawing Board

**Now don't get me wrong, I love that it's finally back but I can't help notice a few potential holes. This chapter's special guest comes from the mind of Noobdieshiiro.**

* * *

"Long ago in a distant lan-," the voice began dramatically

"-Which land?" Hiiro Mizutani interjected disinterestedly.

"I...It's the Kalos region, we're setting it in the Kalos region," the producer deflated briefly before clearing his throat and assuming his dramatic voice once more.

"Hoopa, the portal master of darkness, unleashed calamity into the world. But a foolish samurai war-"

"-I'm not a samurai. If you wanted a samurai we actually have one. His name is literally Samurai! So why aren't you boring him or Duplica with this?" Hiiro glanced at the producer as one would a dust mote.

"B-both of them are currently busy on a very long mission," the producer explained.

"Lucky them" Hiiro huffed.

"Mr. Mizutani, please remember why you agreed to this. You wouldn't have to talk much, most of what you'd be doing on set would be what you already do when you practice in the training grounds. The fact that this show is starring the Black Blade will bring in the viewers and if this show does well then the hope is that it will help boost morale. Think of the soldiers, Hiiro. Think of the children," the producer implored.

Hiiro's glare smoldered for a few seconds until it softened with his sigh.

"I'm listening..."

"So a foolish _swordsman_ wielding an Arcean sword-"

"-A what?"

"A blade forged by Arceus. We'll go into it in another episode, or we'll make it a magical blade. Anyway, we'll have scenes where you will be fighting Unbound Hoopa until you are standing over him with your blade ready to stab down,"

The producer paused as he mentally assumed the role once more.

"-But before the final blow is struck, I summoned a portal in time and flung him into-"

"Outer space," Hiiro finished, nodding sagely at the tactic.

"N-no, he flings you into the future," the producer sputtered.

"The fu-Wait what? Why? If he throws me into outer space I'll die immediately and he would win?"

"It's his character flaw."

"Being retarded?"

"Hubris! He wants to send you to a world where has already conquered everything in order to break your spirit, in a time where he had amassed enough resources to defeat you."

"Okay. A little roundabout but I get it. So the second I come out the other end of the portal, into the future, I die immediately then, right? This is gonna be a short show at least."

"Uh, no. We're still building the set but you land in a dystopic version the land you were just in and there are alien pokemon from other worlds that have come to earth and-"

"I don't get it. Why wait?"

"I'm sorry?"

"So I hop out the portal and he's already there. He gives me a second to see all the horror of the future...and then kills he me? It'd honestly be easier if he just made a portal that sent me into a magma vein or into the deepest parts of the ocean."

"He's not actually there when you arrive to the future," the producer confessed.

"Why wouldn't he be there at that exact moment? He's had all this time to prepare and finish me off while I'm tired from my last fight. Why wouldn't he take that opportunity? Does he want to die?"

"No of course he doesn't want to-he doesn't know where you are?"

Hiiro looked at the man before him as if he were crazier than Ho-oh and Uxie combined.

"But he would've-how could he not know exactly when and where I would...wait, if he has this power then couldn't he, before our battle even starts, make a portal to the past and kill me as a baby or punch my dad in the balls so hard he and the little sperm me dies? Couldn't future Hoopa tell past Hoopa about this whole issue and be done with me before I ever became a threat to him?"

"-there wouldn't a be a story if we did it this way."

"There already isn't a story!" Hiiro yelled before pinching the bridge of his nose and taking deep breaths. "Okay, let's assume that I even end up in the future and he's not there to immediately kill me and I have to go looking for him. Wouldn't I die before I even got to him?"

"Why would that be?"

"You mentioned that there were alien pokemon right? That means they probably brought with them a bunch of diseases and viruses that I don't have an immunity to, unlike the rest of the population that lives in that time. So the second I come into contact with any alien microbes I'm done for."

"Yes...well we're not getting into all of that we just yet."

"How many of these episodes will I actually be doing? When am I going to actually beat him?"

"Well we haven't actually slated that part to hap-wait! Where are you going? Wait! Hiiro, don't leave! Do-"


	7. GUNDAM vs Tyranitar

**This one comes to us from Titanic X for all of you Kaiju lovers.**

* * *

 **Undisclosed Location**

 **0007 YDR**

 **2000 hours**

The night sky was torn open as thunder ripped through the clouds, sending rain lashing down onto the frame of 2nd Lieutenant Yasir El-Amin. His optics flashed as he scanned the horizon, picking out the city he was approaching. He held his XCMA-25D "Charge Beam" beam rifle across his chest as he slowly descended. He shivered against his will as he spotted the destroyed buildings and overturned vehicles lying in the cratered streets. The lights flickered feebly in the darkness, and he gulped audibly. His core was pulsing double time in his armored chest as he slowly landed, standing up and noting in surprise that he stood as tall as some of the buildings.

 _What the hell?!_ he thought as he looked around. _This isn't right! Why am I so tall, and what the hell is going on?!_

The GUNDAM Soldier's eyes flicked left and right as he started to make his way through the city, scanning for any life signs. He had last heard that there were survivors in this area, but... there was nothing on his radar or sensors. As he wandered amongst the destroyed buildings, his mind flitted back through time to the briefing for the mission.

It was just hours ago that Ransei High Command received a garbled transmission, reaching out and pleading for help. In a sense, it reminded the Supreme Warlord of the message received from the Imperial government of Shanxi, and therefore sparked an attempt to try and find out where it came from and who sent it. But alas, not many were willing to make the trip. The message came through again two hours later, and this time several men and women volunteered, among them Yasir El-Amin. The twenty-four year old GUNDAM Soldier leapt at the chance to carry out a mission, and his superior was more than willing to allow it. After the briefing, he left and headed north to rendezvous with the _Kusanagi_. The aircraft carrier took him and several others to the coast of another region whose name escaped him, and he took off from there, heading through a cavern marked on his HUD, only to emerge in a thunderstorm just a half hour after finding an exit.

And now here he was, alone within an abandoned city, and he had somehow undergone a growth spurt, if it were possible for a GUNDAM Soldier to go through such a thing.

He snorted though and resumed his trek, his sensors scanning in all directions for anything out of the ordinary.

His wings twitched against his will and he felt his armor rattling as he wandered through the city's remains. The whole idea of being in a city like this gave him the creeps. He passed by one of the buildings and peered into it, his eyes narrowing a bit. He didn't see any life within it, and he hesitated as he slowly raised his hand to reach in, but lowered it, not wanting to take the risk.

Yasir looked around, his hands gripping his rifle tightly and his sensors on high alert.

* * *

He had no idea that behind him the water was bubbling, something stirring deep within its depths and slowly making its way towards shore, intent on finishing the job it started long ago.

 _ **Awaken, my pet...**_

Footsteps began to resound deep below the sea, sending vibrations up towards the surface.

 _ **Come... A new intruder has wandered into your domain...**_

A huge form, clad in something metallic, began to wander up out of the inky blackness, eyes flashing beneath corroded lenses and it growled lowly within its throat.

 _ **And it is not leaving. Go and wipe it off the face of this Earth... In the name of your master and the Great One...**_

The light of the moon slowly touched it as it began to emerge...

 _ **For the future... of a world for Pokémon, and Pokémon alone...**_

And into the night air.

 _ **In the name of Lord Ho-oh, exterminate the GUNDAM!**_

The beast roared, its cry reaching out for miles into the wastelands of the world and deep into the ocean waters below it.

* * *

El-Amin stopped, his audios picking up something.

 _What was that?_ he wondered. He looked back over his shoulder, confusion filling his optics. _It... It sounded like a roar..._ He focused on the PokéDex function built into his processor and he accessed the recorded cries, running them through his mind and trying to match them together with the sound he had just heard. Within five minutes a match came back, and his eyes widened.

"A Tyranitar?" he muttered softly. "What would one be doing out here?"

He turned, his eyes flicking left and right as he crouched and started to back up, his hands clutching his rifle in a death grip. "And for that matter, where is the thing?" he whispered.

He looked around, and he perked up, hearing something out of the ordinary. His frame tensed and he whipped his body around, aiming his rifle as he took cover behind some partially collapsed apartment buildings. He peered through the scope of his beam rifle and held his finger on the trigger. El-Amin stared in shock at the sight of the water not too far starting to bubble, almost as if someone had set the ocean on high boil. His eyes narrowed a bit as he studied the odd phenomenon. He started to scan it with his sensors, but he was forced to stop in the middle of the scan when his radar blared in his head. He leapt back and landed on his feet as an orange beam lanced past where he had been mere seconds ago, and he rolled behind some more buildings, his wings plastered flat against his back.

 _A Hyper Beam?! Okay... that is_ definitely _a Tyranitar's attack!_ he thought as he checked his rifle's energy charge. He flicked the safety to off and got to his feet, running out from behind his shelter to a more defensible position.

He ran right past the burning structures, his core pounding double time in his armored chest as a second beam lanced out and struck the ground just meters behind him. He dove to the ground, feeling the first tendrils of the heat on his frame and he brushed it aside, ignoring the warnings flashing in his vision as he got to his feet and continued to run for a better position. He finally neared a cluster of buildings and hid behind it, just as a blast of energy struck the ground once more. Yasir hissed through his vents as he hefted his rifle. This was not gonna be easy...

Especially as the source of the beam was finally revealed to be a monster of a Tyranitar.

Clad in some kind of corroded plating and with lenses over the eyes, it reminded Yasir of one of those...bug-like creatures or whatever they were, but his sensors did detect a vital life sign, as evident by the heart beating in its chest. The beast roared, and took its first step onto shore. The buildings shook, and the GUNDAM staggered a bit, his eyes wide. He hadn't expected that whatsoever. It was like the ground was... He had no idea how to describe it. But as he looked back at the beast, he realized, with some trepidation, that it was the exact same height he was. And he was big enough to match some of the smaller buildings here.

He gulped nervously.

This was not gonna be easy at all.

He aimed his rifle at the beast and fired. Blue-gold beams lanced out through the burgeoning rainstorm like celestial arrows for the creature. The shots barely missed it, and some did strike the Tyranitar, but it didn't go down. Instead, it merely brushed them off and roared. Yasir's core leapt into his throat and he gulped.

"Oh, shit...!" he muttered.

The Tyranitar roared and powered up a Hyper Beam, and Yasir took the chance to dive to the side, rolling as it fired, barely missing his wings as he came to a stop behind a partially destroyed tower. He plastered himself against it, holding his rifle across his chest and panting heavily.

This wasn't a good situation at all.

He peered out from behind the tower and narrowed his eyes as he watched the Tyranitar storm about the city, its claws seething with dark energy. The beat swiped at the buildings as it roared, leaving dark gashes in them before some collapsed from the stress of years and the war's damaging effects. The Shadow Claw was indeed strong, and it sent shivers down the lieutenant's back struts. He finally mentally gritted his teeth and got to his feet, realizing he needed to face this thing and find out what the hell was going on here.

"Hey! Godzilla!"

The beast turned as he called out, and at once the corroded lenses flashed before the Tyranitar roared and fired on him with a Shadow Claw attack. At once Yasir leapt to the left, rolling and coming to a stop before he aimed his beam rifle and fired, the blue-golden beams lancing out once more and peppering the huge Pokémon. The Tyranitar roared as it came to a stop and slammed its foot into the ground, and at once the very earth began to rumble beneath his feet. Yasir's gaze shot down to look at it and he gasped as he saw the rock starting to move, shift and churn like ice cream being churned. He spread his wings and engaged his engines, pushing off the turbulent ground as cracks began to appear.

He heard metal groaning and shrieking and he barely dodged a chunk from a nearby building (was it? It looked more like a gantry...) as it fell. He was surprised at this. There was-

A loud roar echoed as an orange beam lanced past his wings, forcing him to dodge it before they got nailed and sheered off. He turned in midair and aimed his rifle again, this time holding down the trigger.

Unlike the X32-A "Zap Cannon" beam bazooka, the "Charge Beam" beam rifle was actually more powerful in its charged shot. The gun, as was typical of all Ransian arms, possessed a crystal shard located in the main chamber where the rounds would've gone. The crystal was hooked into a small battery pack capable of producing either a negative or positive polarity, and thereby charging the crystal with the opposing charge, allowing the excess energy to be discharged as a beam from the crystal itself. If the trigger was held down long enough, it was recently discovered, then a charged ball of energy formed in front of the barrel before it fired, sending a more powerful burst right for the target. The only downside to that was that it drained the crystal's energy, necessitating a more powerful shard for the beam rifles, and an aurite chunk for the beam bazooka.

The "Charge Beam" was also outfitted with a Thunderstone, giving it the ability to fire electrically charged beams of energy.

And it was this feature that he used to great effect as he released the trigger, sending a blast of electrically charged energy right for the huge Pokémon. The beam shot struck the chest and the Tyranitar roared in pain and agony. He leapt to the side as the beast retaliated with a powerful Fire Blast, just barely missing his armor. He grunted as he landed on both feet, his wings flaring to steady himself. He cast his gaze around the battered city, and his eyes narrowed a bit. He could see the remains of the building that collapsed, and several of them were nearly collapsed into rubble heaps. He shifted his attention back to the Tyranitar, only for his eyes to widen when he saw it was gone.

Yasir looked around, expanding his sensors' range to its maximum output. He couldn't believe the Pokémon had gotten the better of him this time, vanishing from sight.

Or did it...?

He tensed his frame and within moments, his caution paid off as he barely dodged a Thunder Wave. He felt his core pulsing double time in his chest as he flipped around, landing on top of one of the partially destroyed buildings. The structure wavered, and it nearly collapsed, but it held. He crouched and sprang off it, whipping his frame around and lashing out in a roundhouse that connected with the Tyranitar's armor plates. The blow was enough to send the Armor Pokémon staggering back and he followed up the blow with a punch to the chest that knocked the beast over. He sprang back, landing on the cracked and battle-scarred pavement, his hands raised in a fighting stance.

 _Damn thing's got a brain, all right... But the only trouble now is... how did it get here and what does it want? And more importantly, does Uxie have a role in this? Knowing that sprite, he probably does._ El-Amin thought to himself as he narrowed his grass green eyes.

The Tyranitar roared again and within moments its claws began to seethe with dark energy. The GUNDAM tensed and leapt up, his thrusters granting him lift as he dodged the Shadow Claw before he aimed his gun and fired again, this time the beam hitting the Armor Pokémon on its weak point: its knees. The Pokémon roared in agony as the beam cut through the armor, burning the thick skin, forcing it to collapse. But the Pokémon wasn't down just yet. It staggered back up and Yasir gaped in shock as it fired a Hyper Beam his way. He weaved to the right, his eyes smaller than normal as he watched in horror as the beam was dragged after him. "Dammit!" he swore.

The Tyranitar didn't even stop as it finally let the beam go. Yasir was stunned. How was it that the Pokémon was able to keep fighting, even with one of its knees badly burnt?! It didn't make any sense to him. Least of all the fact that it needed armor to be worn if it already had a strong and formidable defense...

Wait. Why _was_ it wearing armor to begin with?

It didn't make any sense...

Yasir narrowed his eyes as he looked the Tyranitar up and down. It was still standing, using one of the buildings to support its weight as it fired at him again and again with a Shadow Claw barrage. He wove and dodged the attacks, scanning the beast with his sensors. He couldn't pick out any strange enhancements gifted by the armor, but it did appear to be bolstering the defense of the Tyranitar somewhat. Maybe not by much, as the severed knee indicated, but still enough to cause some trouble. He swung his rifle around and held the trigger down for another full charge burst. This time, he intended to bring the beast down.

Yet before he could, a searing pain raced through him as a rock struck his legs and one of his wings, causing him to spiral out of control and crash into the ground, damaging a building as he did so. The GUNDAM Soldier gritted his mental teeth as he struggled to sit up, checking his frame for damage to his wings and legs. He was relieved when his scanners revealed not much damage had been done, considering how his frame was of an aerial model, but he brushed it aside. He figured he just got lucky that time. He managed to get to his feet, using his rifle as a crutch; he was surprised he _still_ managed to keep a firm grip on it. He ignored the warnings flashing in his vision this time. It wasn't bad damage, but his internal computer still alerted him to the potential for even more damage if he wasn't careful.

El-Amin looked up at his opponent, his eyes hardening into emeralds as it growled lowly. "Okay, bastard! No more holding back!" he hissed.

As if in response, the Tyranitar roared in anger.

Both were now going to go all out. And only one would triumph.

The Tyranitar lunged for the mecha, but he dodged to the side and lashed out in a roundhouse, his metal foot slamming into the chest of the beast before he lashed out in a barrage of punches that dented the chest armor and banged up the helm, but the beast, despite having a knee burnt, refused to go down and unleashed a devastating Thunder Fang as it prepared to bite down. Yasir barely dodged as he ducked and lashed out in an uppercut that slammed the beast's jaws together, but it didn't break the jaw; the armor protected it. He didn't waste any time as he ran for it, his metallic feet pounding the pavement as he ran.

The Tyranitar turned and prepared to unleash a Screech, but he didn't waste any time as he lowered his audio sensors to almost nothing. Yasir knew the power of Screech, having been on the receiving end more than once; the last time left him unable to even move for a week as it had messed up his balancing systems. He felt a sensation akin to nausea surge through him, but that was it. He brushed it aside as he finally whirled around, his rifle held in his hand, his other hand clenched into a fist. His eyes hardened as he watched the beast start to make its way over, only for its leg to give way. Yasir realized at once that he had immobilized the Pokémon with that last shot. He holstered his gun, instead preferring to go for close quarters combat.

He drew in close, his foot lashing out and connecting with the Pokémon's face, and it staggered back before it swiped at him with dark glowing claws. The GUNDAM twisted his frame, but the tip of one of the claws gashed his armor and his sensors sent warnings to his processor. His vision flashed with an image of his frame and the damaged spot, but he shut down the readouts; he could worry later. Yasir's eyes narrowed as he brought up an arm to block another Shadow Claw attack, and this time he countered with a right cross that sent the armor-clad Tyranitar staggering back. He lashed out in an uppercut that missed the Tyranitar's jaw as it leaned to the side and whipped its tail around for a strike to his side, but Yasir grabbed it under his other arm and tugged, throwing off the Pokémon's balance. His wings bristled as he finally sent the Pokémon sprawling, but as he leapt up into the air to deliver a power driver, the Pokémon roared, unleashing a Hyper Beam right for him. The GUNDAM's eyes widened as he was forced to roll to the side before he dove down, a fist colliding with the Pokémon's torso and causing it to spit up blood.

He sprang off and flipped, landing back on his feet as the Armor Pokémon staggered to its feet, its eyes narrowing beneath the lenses and becoming mere slits. El-Amin grunted as he cracked his metallic joints in anticipation.

He charged in, flashing his wings outward and drawing back a fist. He drove his fist downward, colliding it with the pavement and sending a bit of extra power from his core to his hydraulics and systems. The force of the punch caused a crack to snake towards the Tyranitar, the force of the blast striking its armored hide and making it stagger back. He vaguely heard sparking sounds and a screeching of metal as something fell behind him, but he paid no attention to it. Not even the faint flickering of something reddish orange behind his back. He took the chance to spring off the ground and sped in, a cry escaping his vocalizer as he whipped his left foot around and smacked it right into the Tyranitar's chest. The blow was enough to rock the entire city sector in which they stood, mostly because of the extra power he had drawn on. He kicked off the Pokémon's armor and landed, his systems feeling drained as the energy drawn from his core faded away. He ignored it as he got into a fighting stance.

The Pokémon roared and fired off a Fire Blast attack, and Yasir leapt to the side, rolling as it barely scorched his metal hide. As he came to a stop, his foot bumped against something hard, and he looked down at it, noting it was a round object like a spotlight. He was tempted to pick it up, but it was forgotten as the Pokémon fired off another Fire Blast, and Yasir leapt upwards this time, his hand flying for his beam saber. Something was niggling at his processor, and he needed time to figure out what it was. So he had to finish this and quick.

He ignited the blue blade and darted down, his wings flared outward and his eyes narrowed. He cried out as he held the saber out in front, but the Tyranitar unleashed a powerful Hyper Beam, right for him! Yasir rolled to the side, allowing the beam to soar past him. He mentally gritted his teeth as he fired his thrusters to full and sped in, letting out a battle cry as his beam saber impaled the beast, right through the chest. Blood spurted out the back of the Tyranitar as its eyes widened beneath its helmet's lenses. Blood erupted from its mouth briefly before it looked at the beam saber, then into the hard emerald eyes of the GUNDAM.

Yasir hated killing.

But in this day and age, there was no getting around it. Ever since the Undampening, things were not the same. Humans and Pokémon both had their dampeners removed by Lugia and Ho-oh respectively. But now the war had taken a new turn, and he only wished that they could find a way to defeat Uxie, that damn pixie. Considering the situation with him, it made sense that they would use every weapon against him.

Yet as he watched the Pokémon he stabbed pass on, he couldn't help but feel a bit of remorse. Something just didn't seem right here, he knew.

It was as if... something had been... _controlling_ this Pokémon. He wondered if it was the armor it wore.

He didn't have much time to ponder or investigate though.

A loud explosion tore through the city and Yasir's eyes widened as he pulled his beam saber free and looked up, just in time to see large segments of gantry, lights, and even _cameras_ , falling around him. Some small segment of his mind screamed at him that it had been just a stupid movie set, but his primary objective at this point was to get out of the area. Especially as a large amount of unused oil and diesel fuel for some of the trucks and whatnot here was about ready to go off.

The GUNDAM turned and ran for it as more fireballs erupted around him. He sprang into the air, igniting his thrusters and firing them to full as he transformed into aircraft shape. He gunned it as fast as he could, weaving and dodging through the fireballs and explosions as he neared the entryway he had used prior. Behind him he could sense the fire starting to lick at his rudders as he sped through the passage as the fire followed him up.

 _C'mon... c'mon... Just a little bit longer...!_ he thought. His engines were starting to strain as he pushed them. Readings and warnings flashed in his vision, but he forced them aside. He was almost there...

* _WHOOOSH!_ *

The GUNDAM cried out as he blasted out of the entry shaft, a huge fireball following suit as he rocketed back across the landscape and towards the sea where the _Kusanagi_ was lurking.

A signal beeped at that moment and he brought up his comm line. "Yeah?"

" _Lieutenant, what happened in there?_ " Captain Bradford asked him.

Yasir was silent as he circled. "I'll... tell you once we get the hell outta here..." he muttered. As if to prophesize his words, a loud rumbling resonated out from the mountain he had just come from. "And fast..."

" _Understood. Land at once, and we'll get out. But you owe a full explanation!_ " Bradford shot back.

"Roger."

Yasir circled and prepared to land on the deck.


	8. Coming To Town

**ADR 0002**

 **New Island Cloning Facility  
**

 **December 24th**

 **11:58 PM**

* * *

"Status report," Uxie mentally imparted onto one of the kadabra working at the communications desk.

"All is quiet, lord Uxie," the psychic replied and felt the psychic link detach as the sprite floated away. The kadabra continued about his work but paused for a moment when he considered that for a moment he could've sworn he had felt something through the link. Fear?

The psychic shook his head at the absurdity of it all. It must've been his mistake due to working for so many hours. With all his power, allies, and resources, who on the planet could ever make his master feel even the slightest twinge of concern?

As if to answer his question a window appeared on the screen, alerting him to an intruder entering their territory.

 _Oh forks! I just told him everything was fine._

He immediately felt Uxie blip into being behind him.

"Report?" the sprite of knowledge asked aloud, this time the tremor in his tone was unmistakable.

"Nothing to worry about my lord. Something just entered too close to the island and is triggering the alarms. It might just be a lost tentacruel who-"

The dot on the screen blurred down, passing several lines representing the copious barriers the kadabra and Alakazam had painstakingly set up in the event of an invasion. It was supposed to be strong enough to fend off a combined assault from Unova, Ransei, and LaRousse but whoever this dot represented was bypassing their defenses like they weren't even there.

The klaxon of several alarms sounded throughout the facility, Alakazam, Metagross, and their previous evolutions scrambled to their battle positions. Uxie shook his head and sighed. He could not afford another loss of resources like last year.

"Code Black. All staff to evacuate facility immediately."

"Code Bla-" the kadabra was at a loss for words. The only time that code was to ever be used was if an Arceus-class threat was to attack them.

The kadabra quickly typed in the message and sent it to anyone still at a terminal. Following procedure, he teleported to a safe zone Uxie had designated for them years ago, hundreds of miles away from the New Island facility.

Uxie simmered in the silence for a few heartbeats, then teleported to a space a few meters above his building. The skies were a murky gray, matching the churning seas around the island. A chilling wind brushed past the sprite and would've sent goosebumps along Uxie's flesh if not for the psychic barrier that held the cold and wind at bay.

"Oh ho ho," a figure from below bellowed, "I see that you decided to spare your forces this time." Uxie bristled, having not sensed the intruder so close by. Dozens of theories formed in his mind as to why he couldn't locate the aura as he floated down to be at eyelevel with the intruder. Uxie opened his right eye, revealing a bionic replacement he had the Alakazam and Metagross develop for him. After the first year of the undampening he quickly learned that there were things his psychic senses couldn't register.

"Have learned from last time," Uxie said slowly, noting the twelve pokémon strapped to the intruder's chariot.

"Indeed you have, but then again you were always good at learning weren't you, Uxie. I'm surprised you didn't try to run."

"Escape pointless. Your ability to know status and location of every sentient entity makes no place in universe or any parallel dimension suitable to evade your notice. Threats to destroy all my facilities and resources if escape attempted."

"So good that you remembered," the portly man chuckled heartily, slapping his ample gut. "You do love your toys, and it really would be a shame to break them. Even if you've been naughty."

"Never been fond of small talk. Purpose of your arrival would be appreciated."

"Straight to business, eh? Ho ho, that's what I like about you, Uxie. Well ya see, just as you embody the capacity to learn, I embody wonder. I'm the legendary of awe you could say," The bearded man pulled off his red hat and half-moon spectacles, folding the latter up and dropping it into the former, before tossing both at the rows of stantler waiting behind him.

"Because of Ho-oh, I've been had to visit less and less houses in the last two years. Very few children survived the undampening, and those that did lost their sense of wonder for the world."

The man's crimson coat was next to come off being thrown into the freezing winds and carried off into the distance. Uxie did not see the sweat stained undershirt and a pair of suspenders but could almost feel the power radiating off the bulging and chiseled muscles beneath the fabric.

"Letters to my home have stopped flowing and the things that people wished for started to change. Last year it was munitions and rations. This year, everybody wished for one thing."

Last to be removed were the gloves, dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

"…Evolution?" Uxie offered hopefully, then felt a sensation he hadn't known in millennia when Santa's fist slammed into his midsection.

"Catharsis," Saint Nick replied, reeling his arm back through the shattered barrier around the sprite and watching him float back, clutching his midsection.

A tiny part of the sprite was fascinated by the novel concept of pain, the majority just wanted it all to stop. To say Uxie bruised easily was an understatement. Centuries of no physical contact had made the sprite's flesh as delicate as a newborn babe.

"If...If I die..." Uxie sputtered, watching Santa walk away from him, grabbing a sack atop his sleigh and gesturing for his Stantler to leave. Pere Noel dropped the bag and watched his sleigh fly off into the distance.

"Oh ho no, Uxie. I wouldn't dream of killing you. Even if it didn't mean dooming every thinking being in existence, killing you would be far too kind. So worry not, I'll be sure to deck your halls within an inch of your life." Kris Kringle cracked his neck and knuckles as he stepped forward.

"Not this time," Uxie managed to cough just before Mega Mewtwo crashed into father Christmas. The resulting shockwave from the collision was enough to send the sprite spinning away for a few meters. He was in the midst of righting himself when his barrier reformed, blocking the subsequent gusts of wind with every deflected punch. Uxie sent his awareness out, easily locating Mewtwo's aura but unable to pinpoint Pere Noel.

 _He must've become a dark type, but to think Ho-oh's actions managed to alter his typing_.

Mewtwo's body entered Uxie's mentally implanted routine, a simple but brutal combo at first to test for openings, weaknesses. Santa's defense were top notch, not a movement was wasted and no over expenditure of energy to nudge his punches and kicks out of the way.

The space between the two became a cloud of fists, every deflection, every clash of their knuckles summoned a sphere of force that ballooned as their reeled back their fists for another strike. Even as Mega Mewtwo's programming had him increase the pressure, he could find no purchase in the wall of after-images formed by Santa's arms. Uxie noted that while Mewtwo attacked his opponent with his arms, legs, and tail, Pere Noel needed only his arms to keep him at bay.

The barrage went on for nearly a minute. Meters above them, Uxie noticed a quivering dome of snowflakes, unable to descend into the pocket of ferocity raging below. Every collision of limbs caused a clapping sound to rip through the air while there were only two combatants, Uxie felt as though he were in a fully filled stadium during a standing ovation.

"Ho ho, I'd say your friend is quite the fighter, but then, friend isn't the right word, is it? You've turned him into your own toy. I must say that I've considered making an entirely separate list for you, though this one would only be for the naughty things you've done."

"Morality not simple construct. Multifaceted. Layers and layers of complexity. Cannot be confined to outdated concepts of _Naughty_ and _Nice_ ," Uxie bristled. The purple bruises over his body quickly faded as he used Recover.

"Ho," Mr. Klaus scoffed, "I hardly think controlling the body of this poor creature, against his will, hardly falls into a moral gray area." Despite the onslaught of blows being thrown at him, the sprite could see that Santa seemed hardly winded by the endeavor.

Mewtwo's programming registered the open dialogue as a lapse in focus, an opening, and reacted accordingly with the subroutines Uxie had implanted. Santa suddenly shifted his stance, watching with bemusement as a Mega Mewtwo's tail slashed through the air around him and sent a vacuum blade across the facility which continued into the horizon, parting the sea as it went.

A surge of anger flared within the sprite only to be quickly quelled by the logistics of situation. While Mewtwo could've boiled away the ocean or summoned tsunamis with a thought, Uxie had already established dozens of combat parameters into his mind to ensure no moves were used that could damage or destroy cloning facility was not damaged. The loss of his facility would set his projects back by several years, and as such, the most powerful piece on his board was restricted from using his full force., like a queen that could only move like a rook.

"The only present your older brother wished for was that you be freed." All jolliness had left Santa's expression, his stare and aura as cold as blue ice. Even with his bionic eye, Uxie couldn't follow the path of Santa's arm as it blurred forward. Mega Mewtwo's strikes slowed, their movements brought about by the momentum of earlier swings.

Hovering over his shoulders was Mewtwo's head, flakes of flesh swirling along the gaping hole where his throat once existed. Mewtwo's head started to dip when both it and the rest of the body burst into clouds of white smoke. The Substitution now spent.

Uxie was unfazed by Mewtwo's defeat, he'd programmed him to create a Substitute before any major battle. What bothered him more was the sheer, unprecedented strength.

"Never this powerful."

"I function the same way Jirachi does. Instead of one week every millennium, I am at the height of my power for two days out of the year."

Santa leapt into the air, drop kicking the empty space in front of him. His seemingly random attack became justified when Mega Mewtwo teleported into the end of his boots. The Genetic pokemon went flying, becoming a dot in the distance. Santa's landing made no sound, not even as he twirled around and launched himself into a lariat at the open air. Once again his foresight was rewarded when the clone blipped into view, body already angled into a High Jump Kick. Saint Nick twisted past the kick, his arm soaring towards its goal until Mewtwo lifted his arms to block.

Uxie fought against the shockwave pushing against his barrier, noting the bag Santa had dropped hadn't moved throughout the entire scuffle. Mewtwo held against the blow for a few seconds before the forces acting on him would be denied no longer and sent him tumbling down the length in the facility. The psychic rolled onto his feet, arms swaying limply at his sides. Uxie didn't have to search long to see why. Mega Mewtwo's arms had swollen to twice their size, sporting a sickly purple save for the area where they had caught Santa's strick. The flesh had caved inwards, black and bleeding.

Uxie had seen countless mangled bodies, some due to his own genetic splicing, others he had broken psychically. But the sight of Mewtwo's injuries sent shivers down his spine.

Is this because I've remembered what pain is?

Santa lunged forward with a speed the at belied what someone with his girth was capable of. Mega Mewtwo teleported into the air several meters away, arms starting to glow. Father Christmas readied himself for a leap when the gloomy skies above parted and were shunted past the horizon.

"Will not end like last time, Santa. I prepared for you," Uxie actually cackled.

Rayquaza coiled in place above him as Kyogre breached the surface of the sea in the distance.

"Ho ho my, three against one. What unfair odds...for the rest of you," Santa chuckled.

* * *

 **To be continued?**

 **Maybe...**


	9. It's good to be president

**This next one comes to us from Janus366 and is there to remind us that at times we become so involved in the things that we're doing that we forget what's really important.**

* * *

Steven Stone, first president of the Republic of LaRousse, waited on his desk at the presidential office on LaRousse City, the capital of the rising republic located on the Hoenn region. He was waiting for a call, a call which would mark the beginning of probably the most important episode of his government and possibly of the entire history of the young republic at the moment.

Not long ago, the United Kingdoms of Ransei have contacted him asking for help. From what he knew, Ransei have been trying to intervene on the Kalos region affairs to bring humanitarian help and support Free Kalos, the last bastion of civilization on a region ravaged by the chaos of the Undampening and surrounded by hostile factions seeking its destruction. One of them, the Flare Consortium, had declared war on Free Kalos. Ransei, being a close ally of LaRousse, had asked him if he could give them some support or even get directly involved on the conflict to protect Free Kalos.

He had accepted to get involved. Of course, while Steven had always championed for freedom, democracy and to protect the rights of both human and pokemon across the post undampening world and was truly moved by Free Kalos plight, his help would not come for free. Sure, Ransei and their leader "Spray" Krane may be idealists who had no problems offering a helping hand free of charge because it was the correct thing to do. Steven also thought it was the correct thing to do too, but from his education as a businessman and future heir of the Devon Corporation, his idea of helping was more like "I help you and you help me back" instead.

Finally, the communicator on his desk rang and Steven answered it. An holographic projection turned on which showed the face of a military officer.

"Is everything set?" Steven asked.

" _Yes, my President_." Answered General David Campbell of the LaRoussian Armed Forces through the projection. " _Our forces are prepared to attack the Consortium fortress, including the navy and the air force._ "

"Excellent, proceed to begin the operation." He ordered.

" _With all respect, sir. Are you sure this attack his wise? Our Ransian and Kalosian allies feel uneasy about this operation as the enemy is heavily protected and their defenses almost inexpugnable. They are still asking if we don't want their help on this._ " The general added.

"Don't worry General, our armed forces are one of the most powerful and technologically advanced in the world, and we have our strongest and most respectable heroes and veterans on it including the Dragon of LaRousse and his Golden Dragons. So we are perfectly capable of doing this alone. And remember what's at stake this mission. With what the Flare Consortium is protecting there, they have access to practically an unlimited source of energy. If we are able to secure it, we will bring a powerful blow to their organization."

" _Very well sir... I still don't like this and our chances our success... But orders are orders and everyone of us shall do their duty. Campbell, out_." The General saluted and the communication went off.

Steven then sat on his chair and supported himself over the desk hands clasped and fingers crossed.

"Now... we have just to wait..." He said to himself excited.

* * *

 **A few months later.**

 **LaRousse City, Press Conference.**

"Mister President..." A women journalists said. "Months have passed since our last operation against the Flare Consortium which ended in a costly victory for us, so the controversy surrounding it haven't died down yet. Do you still consider that our heavy losses that day were justified with what we got in change?

Steven Stone stood on a podium where countless of journalists were taking photographs, recording videos and trying to ask questions.

"I will say it once again, miss. The same thing I have been saying since first day: yes, our loses were justified."

"Even, if at the end we lost whole divisions of our army, hundreds of aircraft, dozens of ships including a battleship and an aircraft carrier?" The same journalists asked again.

"Yes, it did. Because in change of LaRousse liberating the Diamond Domain, we managed to get the Heart Diamond four ourselves. So we now have a near infinite source of clean, renewable energy for ourselves rivaled only by the Heart of Ransei to sustain our economic growth and energy needs forever."

"Speaking about that..." She kept going. "The government of Free Kalos have continued protesting that while they agreed to let us harvest the energy of the Heart Diamond for perpetuity in change of getting involved into the conflict against the Flare Consortium, they never agreed on relocating the entire Diamond Domain inside our frontiers on the Hoenn region, spending billions of taxpayers' money in the process to complete such monumental task."

"Well, you can tell Free Kalos authorities that we were the ones who did all the job liberating the Diamond Domain from Consortium hands. So I believe we deserve having it for ourselves after all the blood, sweat and tears we gave taking it back. And also, Free Kalos have proved to be unable to keep the Diamond Domain secure from hostile forces, to use it appropriately and that the region have proved to be too unstable for the Diamond Domain to remain there. So I considered that we would make better caretakers of it on our frontiers than on Free Kalos."

"And what about their other protests about the need of deploying a nuclear weapon to turn the tide of the battle into our favor?"

"Again, as I have said before. I give my most sincere apologies of being forced to nuke the Flare Consortium fortress and getting the help of Lugia and his other allies who ravaged the entire region near Diamond Domain not leveled by it to finally get a breakthrough. Seriously... we never thought that those defenses were going to be that tough or that the Flare Consortium had a secret pact with Ho-Oh's and Uxie's faction to bring their legendaries to help them on their defense against us... But good for us, Lugia, his allies and the Dragon of LaRousse managed to save the day when everything started to look bleak. And the footage of the battle is already being edited into an epic action film made by Devon Studios which will be released in a few weeks, don't miss it! But returning to the main question... It was that or risking defeat. And don't worry, it was a highly efficient nuclear device so there should be practically no risk of fallout on ground zero."

* * *

A few hours later, an exhausted Steven Stone returned to the presidential residence after the press conference to finally get some rest. With him, he also had some shopping bags.

"Diancie, I'm home!" He called.

From a flight of stairs, the legendary Jewel Pokemon came down floating next to him.

 _"Hi, President Stone! How was your day?" She asked happy to see him through telepathy_."

He sighed.

"Very tiring, politics are not an easy thing and the press has no mercy... But look what I bought for you!" Steven said as he took a box from the bags and opened it, taking out what was inside and showing it to her.

Inside it, there was an expensive looking dress of her size

" _Oh! It's beautiful! Can I try it?_ " She asked excited.

"Of course, I brought even more! We can try all of them now if you want!" He said happy with glee.

For the next hours, Steven and Diancie enjoyed themselves by making her try all kinds of dresses and extravagant clothes while laughing together like a pair of girl friends, watching all kind of cute and girly movies and series from Steven's collection and playing games like patty cake or hide-and-seek across the residence.

Finally, the two were sit around a cute table on a room made only for her to stick around, drinking tea and eating cookies together.

" _I have to say it again, mister Stone. Thank you very much for rescuing me from the evil clutches of Team Flares and relocating my domain to somewhere safer. The Carbink are now happier than ever here on Hoenn_!" She said with a smile.

"It was nothing, Princess Diancie. I just couldn't stay doing nothing as you and your people suffered."

In truth, while having the Diamond Heart under their possession was useful for the LaRoussian nation and a great boon on long term. What had really motivated him to get involved on the Kalos region was to finally meet and become friend of the pokemon which he had been dreaming and looking for since he was a child. One who he had fell in love at first sight when he had read about her on a book about legendary pokemon of Kalos: Diancie, the ultimate stone poke waifu. And thanks to the power of being the leader of an entire nation, he was now the envy of all stone collectors all over the world.

"Indeed, it's good to be president..." He said to himself as he drank from his cup.


	10. Good Game

**This gracious peek into the multiverse comes to us from Zarrelion. Not gonna lie, being the fan of a certain franchise and it's most recent game, I found this contribution to be fairly enjoyable. It speaks to me and it is my sincere hope that it speaks to you as well.**

* * *

Good Game

"And welcome to the greatest tournament in Hoenn where the best of the best will compete for glory! Welcome to the Evergrande Tournament!"

The bright tropical weather of Hoenn perfectly complemented the tense atmosphere of the stadium. Throngs of spectators filed into the stadium among a pumping high-octane hard rock track. But there was something a little different about this stadium. Instead of the classic lines that were the hallmark of a pokémon battle arena, there was simply a stage and two cubicles.

The announcer went up onto the stage and tapped on the microphone. "Today's tournament will be _Poké Wars_. Please give it up for the Johto champion: the Sky Guardian, Ho-Oh!" Banners and flags waved in support of the Legendary.

Cheers arose as a shadow eclipsed the stadium as Ho-Oh performed a flyover, trailing a glittering rainbow trail. He then he landed in the center field in a plume of fire to screams of adoration and thunderous applause. The Legendary drank in the adulation of his fans and waved to the crowd.

The announcer then cleared his throat. "And the reigning champion, the Chosen One, Ash Ketchum!"

Ash, dressed in his Kanto League outfit (sized up to account for his growth spurts since then) of a black undershirt, white t-shirt and blue vest gracefully descended a staircase made of light. Despite today's battle being completely virtual; Pikachu still rode on his shoulder.

Humans and Legendaries alike cheered for both the contestants.

The announcer then addressed the two. "Competitors, to your positions!"

Ash turned his Pokémon League cap backwards and strode towards his cubicle. Ho-Oh glowed a brilliant white and shrunk down to a more appropriate size as he too entered the cubicle. Within moments, massive screens at all sides of the stadium flared to life with the competitors' information along with the regions they'd be playing on. The only thing missing was which faction they'd be choosing

* * *

It was go-time for Ho-Oh, his terminal already had the game loaded up and the map chosen. He looked over the factions available and weighed his choices. He clicked his beak together as he weighed the strengths and weaknesses of each one. Mew was immediately rejected off the bat as his faction was considered something of a "joke faction" with some of the worst units in the game but truly nasty support units. Kyogre was excellent in regions with lots of water but the region they'd be playing in was Kanto/Johto — and his land units were mediocre. Seeing as the clock was ticking, he opted for the LaRousse faction, which he had used to win the Johto League.

The Sky Guardian wasted no time in pumping out pokémon trainers to defend his base. Luckily, a quick check at his region map indicated that he had Saffron City under his control. Seeing as that was an area of vital importance, he quickly switched over to that location. Currently, the base was only being defended by some light infantry. Keeping an eye on his money reserve, he quickly got to work garrisoning the infantry in the buildings.

" _Blackthorn City is under attack!_ "

Quickly switching screens to show Blackthorn City, he could see that his base was under attack, albeit with Uxie's unique unit — brainwashed civilians, very weak, very inexpensive but were equipped with gasoline bombs and fireworks that were distressingly effective against buildings. Checking his money reserves, he quickly queued up a few pokémon trainers, light infantry and got to work repairing the buildings they had damaged.

* * *

"Oh and it looks like Ash has gotten the first strike on Blackthorn!" the announcer exclaimed. It was then that some new pokémon trainers and light infantry were created. Ho-Oh immediately set them to work killing the intruders in his base.

"Looks like Ho-Oh's countering with a force of his own but he's outnumbered!"

Again, the crowd roared with approval and support for their gamer of choice.

* * *

"Damn it, he's chosen Uxie." Ho-Oh quickly switched tactics. A message came up on the screen indicating that he could now produce LaRoussian Powered Infantry thanks to the research being finished.

He sighed in relief and immediately began cranking several of them out of those out, opting to not use the light infantry any more. Already, Ash's first strike had destroyed the refinery present, killed all the harvesters and nearly destroyed the pokémon gym. Once that was destroyed, the base/city became the enemy's. The moment three of them were ready, he set them on Ash's forces while he started repairing the gym.

* * *

 _Private Gideon Harbing fired his PAR 41A "Manectric" battle rifle full-auto at the crowd that charged him and his two fellow soldiers. Even as the large 10 x 24 mm explosive tipped rounds tore into the charging horde, ripping out chunks of flesh, scattering viscera and turning heads inside out, the crowd simply continued charging. Private Harbing looked at his two fellow soldiers. They too, sprayed down the crowd with a hail of bullets. He heard screaming as one of his soldiers was ignited by a gasoline bomb thrown from the angry crowd. It was a devastating reminder that while the armor protected remarkably well from bullets and similar projectiles, it offered minimal protection from fire._

 _Soon, fireworks and gasoline bombs fell like hail. As if possessed by some supernatural force, he and his_ _remaining_ _fellow soldier deftly maneuvered around the projectiles and fired at the attacking swarm._

 _Perhaps he'd make it through after all._

* * *

Ho-Oh quickly maneuvered the two soldiers (soon four as the queue of LaRoussian Powered Infantry was finished) around the city. Thankfully, the LaRoussian Powered Infantry were quick and agile and the brainwashed civilians' weapons were slow and inaccurate. And of course, he had a _very_ strong micro-game...it was a trick that he had learned from playing against Cynthia.

He let out a sigh as the game announced that the refinery was ready to be placed. Ho-Oh placed it somewhat closer to the ore fields than where the old one was originally located. Seeing as his base was lacking severely in defense, he queued up several more LaRoussian Powered Infantry. And had them garrisoned in the buildings. That'd have to do until he got some actual defensive structures up.

* * *

 _"_ And would you look at that! Ho-Oh shows his _legendary_ micro-skills again! But _Poké Wars_ isn't won on micro alone!"

An instant replay was shown on the some of the screens of Ho-Oh's deft maneuvering of two and then four LaRoussian Powered Infantry in killing off a group of twenty of Ash's brainwashed civilians.

The other screens were showing Ho-Oh preparing a force of Makuhita IFVs, Hariyama tanks and of course, LaRoussian Heavy Gunners.

* * *

The Sky Guardian swore under his breath. While he was busy keeping Blackthorn from being taken by Ash, he had completely neglected the other cities. Thankfully, he had plenty of forces defending Saffron but he had lost the Lake of Rage.

He switched screens to Blackthorn. He had some Dragonite trainers were queued up to help support the attacking force.

At the same time, he switched over to Pallet Town. The base itself hadn't been noticed by Ash yet. Ho-Oh began cranking out a few Camerupt SPAs and a dozen Ninjask drones. At the same time, he checked how much money was remaining. He swore under his breath; in exchange for some of the strongest infantry and vehicles of the factions, LaRousse's pokémon trainers were both more expensive and not as effective as those of the other factions And of course, their infantry and vehicles were costlier as well. Ho-Oh clicked his beak; Ash's first strike had set him back quite a bit. Hopefully by taking Indigo Plateau he could make up for it.

* * *

 _Izsuara felt a perturbation in the psychic field around Indigo Plateau. As a relatively new Alakazam, Uxie had assigned him to guard Indigo Plateau. It was a simple assignment meant more to give him experience in leading a group of Venomoth. Of course, he was sitting on a valuable ore field but the base was in area that the LaRoussians hadn't yet mapped out. The latest intel he had from Uxie indicated that the Humans still thought the area to be empty._

 _In his mind's eye, he could see Machoke digging up and hauling the ore to be refined into valuable raw materials to fuel the war effort._

 _He reached out with his vast psychic powers to try and grasp the minds of the invaders. To his shock, all the Alakazam felt was an empty void. No matter, the Venomoth would make quick work of them._

 _The Ninjask drones were remarkably quick, covering the distance from Pallet Town to Indigo Plateau in less than an hour with a full weapon load. Almost immediately, they were greeted by a horde of Venomoth._

 _The quadcopters immediately broke formation as blades of air and psychic beams slashed the air. Machine gun fire soon joined the cacophony as the drones retaliated._

* * *

Ho-Oh clicked his beak as Ash had his Venomoth engage the drones. Several more drones were queued up to replace the inevitable losses. Hopefully Ash wouldn't be able to react in time to the bombardment.

He checked on his six Camerupt SPA which were deployed just within range of the base. They were protected by a few LaRoussian Heavy Gunners but the majority of the infantry were the Makuhita IFV. He quickly tabbed over to the research panel — no active research going on. Not a problem as he was running short on money. A warning indicated that Blackthorn was under attack.

The Sky Guardian held his ground. If he could pull this off, he'd deal a major blow to Ash. The warnings grew more and more insistent; this wasn't a simple harassment campaign. It was a full-out battle to take his resource base.

He quickly ordered the artillery to fire into the base. As he did so, he decided to use a few other drones as spotters.

* * *

"Fans! This is incredible! It looks like Ho-Oh's betting his all on this attack! And it looks like Ash is pounding Blackthorn's forces! Right now, it could go either way! If either one loses it, they're done for!"

The screens showed Ash's ferocious assault on Blackthorn using a mixed force of Salamence, Gyarados and Golem. The defensive structures and combat units Ho-Oh had scattered around the city were just barely holding on. The remaining screens showed the fierce aerial battle between the Venomoth and the Ninjask drones and the artillery bombardment.

Cheering filled the stadium as the fans watched the fierce virtual battle being waged.

* * *

 _Izsuara let a small smile play across his face as the last of the invading drones was torn apart by a rainbow beam of psychic energy. The Humans' attack was foiled at the cost of quite a number of Venomoth. No matter, bug-types were quick to mature and easily cloned. All he had to do was get more Machoke ready to..._

 _Izsuara swore as his mind's eye saw explosions blossom around the rich ore field. Remnants of Machoke decorated the cratered land. The surviving Machoke fled under the barrage of artillery shells. The refinery itself was a smoldering heap of twisted metal. Fuming, the Alakazam kicked himself as he realized that the seemingly massive aerial assault was merely a diversion. His sanctum shuddered as artillery fire pounded the citadel._

 _He only had one option left. The Alakazite and the Key Stone. Telekinetically breaking the glass case holding the two items, he slammed them into his two spoons, triggering a bright flash of light._

 _Izsuara felt his body slacken as his muscles withered away. The walls of his compound became transparent as an infinite universe lay bare before him. The Alakazam floated off of the floor as a luxuriant beard sprouted forth from his chin and his spoons split five copies of themselves that fanned out before him like a deck of cards._

 _The door to the battlefield outside opened by an unspoken command, letting in the pungent chemical scent of artillery bombardment._

* * *

"Fuck!" Ho-Oh yelled. Thankfully the cubicle was soundproofed. He clicked his beak as he ordered his artillery to bombard the Mega Alakazam floating out of the psychic sanctum (Uxie's equivalent of the pokémon gyms).

He tabbed over to Blackthorn, which was still at a stalemate. Luckily, the Dragonite trainers were doing remarkably well against the invading pokémon. Unfortunately, most of the base was completely leveled, the only thing remaining was the pokémon gym and he had to keep feeding it engineers every so often so it wouldn't be destroyed, giving the base over to Ash.

* * *

 _Izsuara saw the Humans' drones attempt to attack him. The explosive bullets merely made his shield flicker. A quick thought and the drones all plunged to the ground as if pulled by an invisible hand._

 _An artillery shell landed squarely on him, sending him reeling but leaving him unharmed. He levitated further onwards, heedless of the shells that scarred the land around him. Before he knew it, the Alakazam was in front of the six Camerupt SPA. At this close range, their powerful 155 mm cannons were useless but their smaller 10 x 26 mm coaxial machine guns peppered him with explosive rounds. His body was flared with a preternatural blue fire as one of the massive armored vehicles hovered in the air. A quick glance and the multi-ton artillery piece was hurled into the IFV, reducing them both into crumpled wrecks._

 _Another artillery piece was telekinetically lifted up and slammed into the ground with such force that it buried itself in a small crater. A crewman crawled out of the wreck. Izsuara mowed down the man with another Camerupt SPA that he had seized and tossed with his seemingly infinite psionic powers. If one didn't know any better, it would seem that the Mega Alakazam was enjoying the slaughter. The third artillery piece was lifted up. The Mega Alakazam's face remained a blank slate as the sound of screeching metal rent the air. Pieces of the Camerupt SPA rained down like metallic confetti. The last two artillery pieces were simply thrown at each other as if they were toys at the hands of an angry child._

 _It was then that the Alakazite and the Key Stone burnt themselves out. Izsuara collapsed onto the ground and staggered to his feet. His feeble muscles barely supported his weight as the psionic shield vanished. He regained his bearings and resumed his usual method of locomotion by hovering off the ground._

 _He was alone in the scarred battlefield but with nothing nearby, he felt secure._

* * *

Ho-Oh clicked his beak. He cursed himself for not studying up on Uxie as the most common factions he faced in the Johto tournaments were the HLC and the faction that bore his name. Amusingly, he regarded his eponymous faction as something of a beginner's faction with units that were good early game and that rapidly fell in usefulness as the game went on.

That said, he deduced that the Mega Evolution was Uxie's superweapon. And it had completely destroyed his invading force. Blackthorn was safe too. Rebuilding that had to wait as he had Ash's Indigo Plateau base on the ropes.

He swiftly queued up some Ninjask drones (armed with grenade launchers this time).

Ho-Oh then checked his research tab. The LaRoussian superweapon — the Doom Desire satellite mounted particle cannon — was available to research. He pondered whether it was worth it or not. It was expensive and it took a while to research but it would let him carve out a large piece of Ash's forces.

In the meantime, the drones were ready. Ho-Oh wasted no time in sending them to attack Indigo Plateau. In the span of a minute (and with the loss of a few drones thanks to the enemy Alakazam's Shadow Ball attack), he had killed the Alakazam, razed the psychic sanctum and placed down a pokémon gym, granting him control over that particular area. He quickly set up the Ninjask as a defensive perimeter while he placed down a barracks and queued up two LaRoussian Frontline Assault troopers.

He had to admit, these units were quite expensive and extremely slow for infantry but they were heavily armored, immune to psychic attacks and their 20 mm rotary cannons with armor piercing incendiary shells tore apart infantry, unarmored pokémon, lightly armored vehicles, aircraft and flying pokémon with ease.

The next building to go up was a refinery.

* * *

Cheering from Ho-Oh's fans broke out as he successfully took the base and made it his own.

"Fans, it looks like Ho-Oh has pulled off the biggest upset we've seen so far! But Blackthorn is in sorry shape.

"And it looks like Ash is making a push for it from Mahogany Town! I think this might be it!"

* * *

Ho-Oh quickly plopped down as many defensive structures as possible in the ravaged city. Luckily, a few of the Dragonite trainers were still present. Ninjask drones were deployed and a LaRoussian Frontline Assault trooper was deployed to bolster the force of LaRoussian Powered Gunners.

He took a deep breath and clicked his beak. This was going to push his micro skills to the test.

* * *

 _This was it. Sergeant Ashton Raze marched over the ravaged terrain of Blackthorn as he and a few soldiers guarded the entrance from Route 45. The few remaining friendly Dragonite flew overhead. His exoskeleton whirred softly as he hefted his 20 mm rotary cannon. It was a massive piece of equipment better suited for a vehicle but the Aggron Mk. III powered armor he wore made him literally head and shoulders above the other infantry when it came to size and stature._

 _Already he could see a massive army Golem and Salamence approaching along with a pack of Heracross and a few Donphan scattered among them. And the city had only a pittance of troops, friendly pokémon and defensive structures._

 _An explosion signaled that one of the Salamence had blasted apart one of the guard towers with a Hyper Beam. Sergeant Raze's rotary cannon spooled up in and in less than a second, he sprayed down the first horde of Heracross with the explosive rounds. Puffs of blood and tissue hung in the air as the Heracross were reduced to bloody smears on the rocky ground._

 _Despite focusing on the approaching Heracross, Sergeant Raze moved out of the way of a massive boulder that cratered the area he was standing. To him, it was as if someone else had seen that boulder and moved his body for him._

 _He paid no heed to that as he slowly pushed onward, his rotary cannon roaring like an enraged Charizard as it mowed down Heracross. As for the Golems, they too pushed through the hail of explosive shells._

 _Orange beams lanced across the sky and gouged the ground as the Dragonite strafed the Donphan and Golem with their Hyper Beam attacks. Salamence retaliated with the shimmering green flames of Dragon Breath. One Dragonite went down in flames._

* * *

Ho-Oh's heart pounded as he worked the keyboard and mouse to their limits. His force was relatively small but it was powerful. He checked his cash flow. He opted to empty his resources (even selling some of the structures in Blackthorn) and train two LaRoussian Frontline Assault troopers. It was a gamble that relied on his ridiculous micro skills. If he managed to destroy Ash's forces and push on, he could obliterate Violet City and clinch the game. If not...then he just handed Ash a win.

* * *

"I haven't seen this much gambling since Mauville Game Corner hosted poker night!"

By now, the stadium was in a frenzy with both sides cheering for their favored contender.

"And it looks like Ho-Oh might take it! He's forcing Ash back down into Violet City. Oh, it looks Ash _just_ got off a Mega Alakazam! Looks like Ash might just make a comeback!"

* * *

Ho-Oh's beak dropped open. In mere seconds, he had lost two LaRoussian Frontline Assault troopers. He kept his remaining trooper away from the Mega Alakazam — not an easy task considering that the LaRoussian Frontline Assault trooper was possibly the slowest unit in the game. Fortunately, with the Dragonite constantly harassing it, Ho-Oh was able to maneuver the infantry unit away from the Alakazam until its Mega Evolution ran out.

Unfortunately for Ho-Oh, he had a total of five units: four Dragonite and one LaRoussian Frontline Assault trooper.

Well, it was now or never. He marched his units into Violet City. Ash was almost defeated but he wasn't looking too good either with barely any money left.

Ho-Oh's keyboard and mouse were practically aflame as he swiftly maneuvered his units to dodge enemy attacks and retaliate. Eventually, all he had left was the LaRoussian Frontline Assault trooper. In desperation, he ordered the trooper to attack the psychic sanctum. As he watched both health bars declining with the infantryman nearly dead and the sanctum at half health, he opted to have the LaRoussian Frontline Assault trooper self destruct.

He let out a breath that he was holding as the explosion took out both the psychic sanctum and most of the defenders.

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough money to place down a pokémon gym and there were still some hostiles present.

But it came, two simple letters and a sentence.

"gg"

 _Ash has left the game_

Ho-Oh nodded and set "gg" back in reply. He leaned back in his chair and waited for the referees to dismiss him. It was then that he realized how thirsty he was.

* * *

And sure enough, when the two contestants were dismissed and ushered up to the podiums to receive their prizes, the excited roar of the crowd became a fever pitch. The instant replay of Ho-Oh's winning move flashed back on the screens over the stadium.

Ash proudly bowed his head as the medal was awarded to him. Ho-Oh shook his hand and the two parted ways.

As the two shared one last glance at each other, they had the same thought: "Well played."


End file.
